Here's the view as you walk past the blueberries and look at the north apple bed.  Every apple tree in this bed is a mini-dwarf. The mini-dwarfs could reach 6 to 7 feet, but Gene keeps them down to about 3 or 4 feet.  All Gene's mini-dwarfs are created by grafting the desired variety onto either a M27 or P22 rootstock.  These are two of the most dwarfing apple rootstocks available today.  It's only by using these rootstocks that Gene is able to fit so many apple trees in his backyard.  For more information on how a rootstock controls the size of an apple tree see our web page Why Fruit Trees Are Grafted.

  Now you see a close-up of a mini-dwarf apple tree from this bed. It's the variety ‘Red Chief’ growing on an M27 rootstock. You can estimate it's size from the top of the fence, which is 42 inches high. The chain link fence has black shade cloth fabric attached to it.. This keeps the neighbor's Forsythia hedge from growing through.