Root Stock Growths

Rootstock suckers can be dug up and used for rootstock. They need to be fairly vigorous ones and need to have a few roots attacked for best results.

If the trees have much canker, it is risky taking any grafts or suckers from it as it seems that canker can spread in graftwood. If canker is a problem, prune out the cankers for a year or two and if canker comes under control, you cna start taking grafts from vigorous young shoots.
Successful grafts require healthy and vigorous young shoots. Weak-growing shoots have a high failure rate, especially if they are not naturally high-vigour varieties.

You may find that the trees you propagate are less vigorous than their "mother" tree due to the mother tree gradually having picked up virus infections throughout its life - such as from sap-sucking aphids and nematodes. Viruses can't be cured or treated, but most trees can live with them and only tend to show a reduction in vigour.
Most of the ancient varieties of apple probably carry viruses picked up over the centuries but we still grow them successfully.

They are very vigorous - and look very healthy - thanks FB, much obliged.

Will start marking them up so that the volunteer groups don't chop them back when I'm not looking. I am colour coding things with coloured balls and anything labelled in red is not to be touched, green is good to compost and blue is to be taken off site. Will get some balls for next week.

Cheers.

There was a good bit about rootstocks in the Sepp Holzer that I just took back to the library this morning.

There must be a free PDF on the net, somewhere

There's probably a copy in the library at work, it's just I've been working at home most of this week. Will have a look on Monday, thanks.