Bud 9 is the rootstock I chose for most of the Under the Tree orchard. It is full dwarf, very early bearing, vigorous for the first couple years, and settles down nicely. My trees are at 5' x 15' on an 8' trellis. The trees are 10', and about 4' wide. 4 years after grafting they are at that size and cropping well. You can stake individual trees but they need support, this rootstock grows apples not trunk! I have not had problems with fireblight getting into it, even when the main leader is involved, but it is not immune. Red leaves make suckering easy, and it does not sucker nearly as much as the Geneva rootstocks, for me. These are rootstocks I stool propagate in zone 5b/6a, not resold west coast rootstocks. March shipment, $29 flat rate shipping for any quantity of trees and rootstocks
