Growing Rootstock

Hi there!
I've always loved orchards and we just bought some acres to play and grow in. It's all well and good to buy fruit trees, but I really want to learn to graft my own trees. Ideally, I'd like to be able tk start from scratch; grow my own rootstock; graft; prune; etc. But I have a problem. I cant get a good answer for the fundamental question.

How do people grow new rootstock trees???

Katherine, that is a great question.  I hope this thread by Dr. Bryant Redhawk will answer all your questions and give you the information you need:

Bryant Redhawk said, "What trees can be grafted?

Young, vigorous fruit trees up to 5 years old are best for top-working. Older apple and pear trees of almost any age can be top-worked but the operation is more severe and those over 10 years old must be worked at a higher point. Hibernal, Columbia, or Virginia crab, because of their vigor and their strong, well-placed branches, are very good understocks.
Young trees should have 1 to 2 feet of branch between the trunk and the graft. Otherwise the good crotch formation of the understock will be lost by the trunk expanding past the union.
Trees up to 5 years old can be grafted at one time. On older trees about half – the upper and center part only

https://permies.com/t/44458/Grafting-Trees#1475614

I am looking forward to what others have to add and any questions you might have.

That thread is a great start.

My favorite place that sells rootstocks is:
Fruitwood Nursery - Rootstocks

They often mention which are started by seed or otherwise. Buying rootstock trees is one way to get started with propagation of those that are normally started from suckers or cuttings.

If you want to look deeply into the characteristics of individual trees used as rootstocks, here is one website.

UC Davis -  Foundation Plant Services - All about rootstocks

This is the sort of info you can find, as an example from the page I linked:

Cultivar Name: Myrobalan 29C
Type Plum Rootstock
Patent Not Patented
Parentage Open-pollinated seedling of Prunus cerasifera
Species Prunus cerasifera
Usage Rootstock
Scion Vigor Influence Standard
Soil Adaptation Good tolerance to waterlogging. Has adaptability to medium to heavy soils.
Resistance Traits Resistant or tolerant to Root-knot nematode. Susceptible to Lesion nematode, Ring nematode, bacterial canker. Partly resistant to Phytopthora, Armillaria, crown gall.
Graft Compatibility Good with Apricot, Plum, "Prune", poor with peach and nectarine; some incompatibility with almonds; prunes subject to brown line on this rootstock.
Propagation Notes Its propagated vegetatively by hardwood cuttings.
Propagation Method Vegetative
Anchorage Good
Suckering Medium

Description Originated in Marysville, California, by Marion E. Gregory, Gregory Brothers Nursery Co., now of Brentwood, California. Introduced in 1920. Open-pollinated seedling of Prunus cerasifera; seed imported from France. Used only as a clonal rootstock; resistant to root-knot nematode, grow vigorously; makes large tree; less sucker development than Marianna 2624. Not in NC-140 Trials. A standard rootstock for plum in California, especially in heavier soils where Nemaguard does not do well. Disadvantages of Myrobalan 29C is it tends to lean, some incompatibility with almonds, prunes subject to brown line on this rootstock, may set lighter crop than Marianna 2624, susceptible to oak root fungus.

This is a little simpler, it's a list of common rootstocks and their characteristics:
Dave Wilson nursery rootstock comparisons

Have fun!

Your question is, I believe: "How do I accurately grow the same rootstock I have."

There's a method called stooling where you bury a rootstock and it sends up shoots much like say burying an uncut branch from your blueberry bush and then after it roots cut the branch before it goes under ground which will give you a another copy of your original blueberry bush. As I understand it you can reuse this buried stool over the years for additional rootstocks.

Here's a link https://growgreatfruit.com/harvesting-rootstock-trees/ to an article written by someone who's actually done it.

I'd suggest you bury more than one of your selected rootstock variety, just to ensure you get one success. Good luck with your project and your orchard.

By the way there are two apples I know of which will reproduce "accurately" if grown from seed. One is the Antonovka rootstock which will grow a semi full tree. The other is Fameuse which grows a medium vigor tree. Fameuse or Snow Fameuse "flesh is tender, spicy, distinctive in flavor, and snow white in color with occasional crimson stains near the skin." Fameuse will grow semi accurately from seed.

I would like to do this at some point as well. Here the cultural practice is to grow fruit trees on very dwarfing rootstocks. They need staking, and grow slowly if not kept scrupulously weed free. We don't want a conventional orchard, we want large standard apple trees. So my plan, over the next few decades, is to get hold of a rootstock for large vigorous apples, propagate it, then graft my own trees for use on our property.

The way to propagate a known rootstock, as suggested above, is a technique called stooling.

Stooling Apple Rootstock