diff --git a/crates/lance-context-core/src/generic_store.rs b/crates/lance-context-core/src/generic_store.rs
index c835c5a6..873df0ec 100644
--- a/crates/lance-context-core/src/generic_store.rs
+++ b/crates/lance-context-core/src/generic_store.rs
@@ -25,13 +25,15 @@ use std::sync::Arc;
 use arrow_array::RecordBatch;
 use arrow_schema::{ArrowError, Schema};
 use futures::TryStreamExt;
+use lance::dataset::mem_wal::ShardManifestStore;
 use lance::dataset::optimize::CompactionMetrics;
 use lance::session::Session;
 use lance::{Error as LanceError, Result as LanceResult};
+use lance_index::mem_wal::ShardManifest;
 
 use crate::generic_codec::{batch_to_rows, rows_to_batch, Row};
 use crate::store::{CompactionConfig, CompactionStats};
-use crate::store_base::{ListSource, StorageBase, StorageBaseOptions};
+use crate::store_base::{ListSource, PreparedMerge, StorageBase, StorageBaseOptions};
 use lance_context_api::schema_spec::{SchemaSpec, ID_COLUMN};
 
 /// Schema-metadata key holding the serialized [`SchemaSpec`], so a store can be
@@ -380,6 +382,28 @@ impl GenericStore {
         self.base.cleanup_own_shard().await
     }
 
+    /// The shared-lock half of [`Self::cleanup_wal`]: seal, then read a
+    /// budgeted prefix of flushed generations into memory. Callers holding a
+    /// read lock run this while appends continue, then take the write lock
+    /// only for [`Self::commit_prepared_merge`].
+    pub async fn prepare_cleanup_merge(
+        &self,
+    ) -> LanceResult<Option<(ShardManifestStore, ShardManifest, PreparedMerge)>> {
+        self.base.prepare_cleanup_merge().await
+    }
+
+    /// Commit a merge prepared by [`Self::prepare_cleanup_merge`].
+    pub async fn commit_prepared_merge(
+        &mut self,
+        manifest_store: &ShardManifestStore,
+        manifest: &ShardManifest,
+        prepared: PreparedMerge,
+    ) -> LanceResult<usize> {
+        self.base
+            .commit_prepared_merge(manifest_store, manifest, prepared)
+            .await
+    }
+
     /// Generations pending merge across all shards. Read-only.
     pub async fn pending_wal_generations(&self) -> LanceResult<usize> {
         self.base.pending_wal_generations().await
diff --git a/crates/lance-context-server/src/state.rs b/crates/lance-context-server/src/state.rs
index 9857e0d3..ef6d15fb 100644
--- a/crates/lance-context-server/src/state.rs
+++ b/crates/lance-context-server/src/state.rs
@@ -908,13 +908,26 @@ impl AppState {
                     return;
                 };
                 // Every kind, not just rollout: generations accumulate in each
-                // one, and only the base table absorbs them.
-                sweeper::merge_pass(sweeper::resident(&state.rollout_stores).await, pass_timeout)
-                    .await;
-                sweeper::merge_pass(sweeper::resident(&state.datagen_stores).await, pass_timeout)
-                    .await;
-                sweeper::merge_pass(sweeper::resident(&state.generic_stores).await, pass_timeout)
-                    .await;
+                // one, and only the base table absorbs them. The kinds run
+                // concurrently: each pass is a serial walk with a per-store
+                // timeout of several minutes, so with hundreds of resident
+                // rollout stores a serial kind order let generic stores go
+                // unswept for hours while their generations piled into the
+                // tens of thousands and every read re-opened all of them.
+                tokio::join!(
+                    sweeper::merge_pass(
+                        sweeper::resident(&state.rollout_stores).await,
+                        pass_timeout
+                    ),
+                    sweeper::merge_pass(
+                        sweeper::resident(&state.datagen_stores).await,
+                        pass_timeout
+                    ),
+                    sweeper::merge_pass(
+                        sweeper::resident(&state.generic_stores).await,
+                        pass_timeout
+                    ),
+                );
             }
         }))
     }
diff --git a/crates/lance-context-server/src/sweeper.rs b/crates/lance-context-server/src/sweeper.rs
index 0500e257..b629cfa0 100644
--- a/crates/lance-context-server/src/sweeper.rs
+++ b/crates/lance-context-server/src/sweeper.rs
@@ -110,13 +110,38 @@ impl Sweepable for Arc<RwLock<GenericStore>> {
     }
 
     async fn flush(&self) -> Result<(), String> {
+        // Same shape as rollout: generic stores default to a deferred seal and
+        // take the same one-row-per-append traffic, so the count-triggered
+        // merge rides this timer too. Without it a hot generic store depends
+        // entirely on the slower cleanup sweeper reaching it.
         let guard = self.read().await;
-        guard.flush().await.map_err(|e| e.to_string())
+        let result = guard.flush().await.map_err(|e| e.to_string());
+        if result.is_ok() {
+            drop(guard);
+            let mut guard = self.write().await;
+            guard.maybe_merge_wal().await.map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        }
+        result
     }
 
     async fn merge_wal(&self) -> Result<usize, String> {
+        // Prepare under the shared lock so appends and reads keep running while
+        // generations are read; hold the exclusive lock only for the commit.
+        let prepared = {
+            let guard = self.read().await;
+            guard
+                .prepare_cleanup_merge()
+                .await
+                .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?
+        };
+        let Some((manifest_store, manifest, prepared)) = prepared else {
+            return Ok(0);
+        };
         let mut guard = self.write().await;
-        guard.cleanup_wal().await.map_err(|e| e.to_string())
+        guard
+            .commit_prepared_merge(&manifest_store, &manifest, prepared)
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())
     }
 }