Antonovka Full Size Apple Rootstock

Pre-Order for Spring 2027 - Rootstock comes from the US anytime between late March to mid-May. Usually ready to ship in mid-April.

If you want this variety for Spring 2028, contact us directly to be put on our request list!

Grown by: Willamette Nurseries

Graft Compatibility:

Good

Why We Grow It: Antonovka is our go-to for full-size trees. The strong root system and decent cold hardiness makes it a good candidate for most locations.

Rootstock is the bottom part of a grafted tree which has the roots. The main purpose of rootstock is to control the height of the adult tree and it is broadly categorized as dwarf, semi-dwarf, and full-size/standard. Rootstock can also impart other benefits such as changes to tree vigour (relating to how soon it bears fruit), cold hardiness, and disease resistance.

Rootstock will grow into a tree on its own if left ungrafted, but the fruit it produces is often undesirable for human consumption.

Click HERE to learn more about grafting!

Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4

Soil Preference: Sandy loam, loam, clay loam. Prefers average to moist conditions, avoid planting anywhere that floods for more than two weeks in the spring. Generally quite adaptable to different soil conditions.

General Growth Habit: Full-size, reaches 16-20ft tall, very vigorous, produces a strong and deep root system which makes it fairly drought tolerant. Generally good disease resistance.

Antonovka was developed by renowned Russian plant breeder I.V. Michurin and released in 1888. Although the fruit of this hardy variety is less popular outside of its homeland, it has been commonly used as rootstock due to its unique ability to stay almost true to type and its strong root system.

Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of plants across Canada. We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.

Pick-up: We also have thousands of plants picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc.

When Will My Order Be Ready?

Dormant Rootstock: We receive the majority of our dormant rootstock from a supplier in the US and are at the mercy of whenever they choose to ship their rootstock to us. It generally arrives anywhere between late March and mid-May, but most often is delivered in April. We will prepare your rootstock order as soon as we have received this shipment and taken inventory.

Non-Dormant Rootstock: If you are getting non-dormant rootstock (see description) then it will generally be ready around mid to late May. If you have other bareroot plants and want them shipped, we may ship them separately ahead of time.

Each piece of rootstock is generally 1-1.5ft tall including the roots and is ideally 3/16-1/4" thick.

There may be some variation in size, thickness, and straightness between varieties/species.

$8.75

Rootstock Option: Dormant Bareroot

70 in stock

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