Last spring (2019) I had good success grafting a variety of scions on MM111 rootstock and planting them in a nursery.
Some of the scions didn't take but the rootstock still thrived.
I've read that if you cut the tree off at ground level and add a loose medium around the shoots that follow, you can make your own rootstock.
I have a few questions:
How long must the tree be established before cutting it off will induce it to send up shoots? Can I do it this year (2020)?
What time of year should the tree be cut off? I'm in zone 3 and there's still a lot of snow on the ground in early spring.
Do you use the rootstock immediately after separating or do you store them before use?
Thank you.
I learned the word "stooling" today, and with that search term I found some good resources about timing. http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/a.....ple72.html has the following timetable:
- Plant rootstock in spring
- After 1 year, cut off at ground level
- Allow shoots to grow into the summer, then heap them with 3 inches of loose material
- Continue to to add material as they grow (but don't exceed 6" material total)
- Dig up the material in late fall and cut off the shoots
It then says to plant the shoots and graft the larger ones in the spring. I'm curious about storing the shoots instead for bench grafting. I will continue to research and I welcome any advice in this forum.
If they’re for personal use, I see no reason to “Dig up the material in late fall and cut off the shoots.” I would wait until mid-to late Winter, around the same time you’d collect scion wood. After cutting the exposed, slightly rooted shoots from the parent rootstock, I believe they're stored as you would dormant scions.
I’ve found rootstock at nurseries or shipped by mail packed in damp sawdust and kept cool. If using a ‘frost free’ refrigerator, as opposed to a ‘walk in cooler,’ I’d keep the bundle sealed so as not to dry out.
If storage allows you to bench graft them at your convenience, I’d expect them to stay viable about as long as scions (or cuttings) under the same conditions. But in order to experience a full seasons growth, especially up North, I wouldn’t be attempting to store them until ..July 
Thank you for the info. The trouble around here is that the ground is frozen and often covered with snow at the time I collect scions. This year, mid-March, there is still several inches of snow and plenty of ice on top of the frozen ground. The situation is less dire in November and December, usually.
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