"'Mahaleb' is slightly more precocious and slightly less vigorous than 'Mazzard' and it is one of the most drought-tolerant cherry rootstocks, having deep-set roots. 'Mahaleb' is, however, extremely sensitive to water-logged soils as well as soils that may be anaerobic for a short time during the winter months. 'Mahaleb' is best suited to deep, well-drained loams and sands as well as the calcareous soils typical of Spain and southern Italy. There, and in similar locales around the world, 'Mahaleb' is the preferred rootstock ... 'Chelan' and 'Tieton' have expressed incompatibility symptoms when grown on 'Mahaleb'. In addition, 'Mahaleb' is attractive to gophers. Consequently, control measures must be pursued with diligence" (Long and Kaiser 2010).

Mahaleb is resistant to crown gall, bacterial canker, and some nematodes, but highly susceptible to collar rot. It is cold hardy, precocious, and productive. When planted in the right conditions, this is an excellent and reliable rootstock.