Can I Graft an Apple Tree Onto a Mulberry Rootstock?

Mulberry Rootstock

• Rootstocks chosen for any fruit tree or crops are taken from the same plant family or genus. Mulberry rootstocks are not recommended for apple tree because the trees do not belong to the same family. Apple trees are from the Rosacea, or rose, family and belong to the Malus genus. To the contrary, mulberry is from the Moracae family and belongs to the Morus genus. Even if the graft was attempted, it would be a very weak and would not last long, according to the University of Illinois Extension.

Advantages of Rootstocks

• Rootstocks that are used for apple trees determine the size of the tree. Widely used apple rootstocks are chosen for smaller, mature sizes and make maintenance, harvest and pruning easier. Smaller trees also are easy to spray and train, produce higher and better quality yields per acre, and bear fruit sooner than the larger, traditionally grown 30-foot-tall trees.

Apple Rootstock History

• More than 70 different types of rootstocks are available for apple tree propagation, writes Creighton Lee Calhoun, Jr. in "Old Southern Apples." Some of the important apple rootstocks, such as M7 and M9, have been in use for the several centuries. Many widely used rootstocks were developed at the East Malling Research Station in the early 20th century in England, where researchers used the clonal rootstocks that had been used for centuries by the European farmers.

Common Apple Rootstocks

• The standard rootstock used for apple trees is referred to as M106 and is used for the propagation of all varieties except the dwarf pyramids. The rootstock for dwarf trees is called M9 and is recommended for trees grown in highly fertile soil. The M27 rootstock is used for trees grown in tubs or containers. Apple trees produced on these and other modern rootstocks start to bear fruit in the second or third year and remain productive for up to 30 years.