Growing pear tree from seed
- treeroot
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Growing pear tree from seed
I have a pear tree in my front lawn that's not long for this world. It drops pears from mid October to December. I'd like to try and grow some trees from its seeds. Anyone ever tried it? Anything I need to know?
I've been digging around online, but it seems there are several different methods. Looking for some first hand knowledge.
I've been digging around online, but it seems there are several different methods. Looking for some first hand knowledge.
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
If you grow from seed you will not get the same tree with the same properties. It will probably be quite different & very possibly quite poor quality. Most fruit trees like apples & pears do not grow true from seed. They must be grafted. That way you will get the exact same tree. Learn to graft. It is not hard. If you know nothing about it here is a good video on how to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy1Ca8RotRI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy1Ca8RotRI
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
DEERSLAYER wrote:If you grow from seed you will not get the same tree with the same properties. It will probably be quite different & very possibly quite poor quality. Most fruit trees like apples & pears do not grow true from seed. They must be grafted. That way you will get the exact same tree. Learn to graft. It is not hard. If you know nothing about it here is a good video on how to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy1Ca8RotRI
Thank you. I will check it out.
- treeroot
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
Good video and great idea. If you've done this anyplace you would recommend buying the root stock from?
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
I still need more research. However if I'm correct it appears that I can graft some of the pear tree onto an apple tree. If that's true in theory I could have a some trees on private grounds that bare both apple and pear. Sounds like a early season honey hole to take my kids to when they're old enough to hunt.
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
You can't graft across species. If you graft a pear and an apple it won't last long before the graft fails. There are one or two supposed exceptions but from what I hear the graft union usually fails eventually after several years. Usually about the time it starts producing fairly heavy crops. If you do apple trees I would use BUD118 roostock unless there is a special reason not too. BUD118 is good for just about any soil type you would plant into & produces a lot of apples & at a young age. For pear I can't remember the rootstocks well enough to recommend one. It's been quite a few years since I did that stuff. You can always call a place that sells rootsocks & explain your pear situation & they could help you decide. I would call 2-3 places to be sure you are on the right track. You never know who is going to answer the phone. You can also reproduce your own rootstocks by a method called stooling (in most cases) but it takes a year to get going. However, then you can make as many as you want for free. You can do a google search to find the best prices for roostocks. You will want to order them by January in some cases to be sure they don't run out.
If you search the forum for grafting or rootstocks you should find more info.
If you search the forum for grafting or rootstocks you should find more info.
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
DEERSLAYER wrote:You can't graft across species. If you graft a pear and an apple it won't last long before the graft fails. There are one or two supposed exceptions but from what I hear the graft union usually fails eventually after several years. Usually about the time it starts producing fairly heavy crops. If you do apple trees I would use BUD118 roostock unless there is a special reason not too. BUD118 is good for just about any soil type you would plant into & produces a lot of apples & at a young age. For pear I can't remember the rootstocks well enough to recommend one. It's been quite a few years since I did that stuff. You can always call a place that sells rootsocks & explain your pear situation & they could help you decide. I would call 2-3 places to be sure you are on the right track. You never know who is going to answer the phone. You can also reproduce your own rootstocks by a method called stooling (in most cases) but it takes a year to get going. However, then you can make as many as you want for free. You can do a google search to find the best prices for roostocks. You will want to order them by January in some cases to be sure they don't run out.
If you search the forum for grafting or rootstocks you should find more info.
Thank you. It seems like a good semi distant future food plot. I've never seen another pear tree in the wild before. Mine I've had to honk at the deer at night to pull into my driveway. They'll dig into the snow into late December for them.
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
treeroot wrote:DEERSLAYER wrote:You can't graft across species. If you graft a pear and an apple it won't last long before the graft fails. There are one or two supposed exceptions but from what I hear the graft union usually fails eventually after several years. Usually about the time it starts producing fairly heavy crops. If you do apple trees I would use BUD118 roostock unless there is a special reason not too. BUD118 is good for just about any soil type you would plant into & produces a lot of apples & at a young age. For pear I can't remember the rootstocks well enough to recommend one. It's been quite a few years since I did that stuff. You can always call a place that sells rootsocks & explain your pear situation & they could help you decide. I would call 2-3 places to be sure you are on the right track. You never know who is going to answer the phone. You can also reproduce your own rootstocks by a method called stooling (in most cases) but it takes a year to get going. However, then you can make as many as you want for free. You can do a google search to find the best prices for roostocks. You will want to order them by January in some cases to be sure they don't run out.
If you search the forum for grafting or rootstocks you should find more info.
Thank you. It seems like a good semi distant future food plot. I've never seen another pear tree in the wild before. Mine I've had to honk at the deer at night to pull into my driveway. They'll dig into the snow into late December for them.
It sounds like you have a winner there. I don't know where you are at but if your anywhere near the climate I have here I might try to get some scion wood from you at some point,
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
I'm in western new York. If it'll help you let me know what you need.
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
There's the tree. As you can see it's not in the best shape. Out of the ten years I've been here it's only not beared one year.
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
Sounds like a good tree. If you ever do any trimming the following years growth is good for grafting. You usually need at least a foot of growth to get full sized buds on the stick for grafting. Two feet of growth is much better. Trimming is usually necessary on an old tree because the older ones just don't grow much without some help. Horizontal growth is best but vertical "sucker" growth can be used in a pinch & is usually better than nothing. If you ever do some trimming & don't mind sending me some scion wood the following early spring before green up let me know how much $$ you want & I will give it a try.
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- Jackson Marsh
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
I find this interesting. Thanks for the information DS.
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
BTW, for scion wood you should generally trim early spring before spring green up to get the best regrowth.
No problem JM. I think people would be surprised how enjoyable & rewarding propagating new plants & grafting is.
Jackson Marsh wrote:8-)
I find this interesting. Thanks for the information DS.
No problem JM. I think people would be surprised how enjoyable & rewarding propagating new plants & grafting is.
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
DEERSLAYER wrote:Sounds like a good tree. If you ever do any trimming the following years growth is good for grafting. You usually need at least a foot of growth to get full sized buds on the stick for grafting. Two feet of growth is much better. Trimming is usually necessary on an old tree because the older ones just don't grow much without some help. Horizontal growth is best but vertical "sucker" growth can be used in a pinch & is usually better than nothing. If you ever do some trimming & don't mind sending me some scion wood the following early spring before green up let me know how much $$ you want & I will give it a try.
When do you recommend trimming?
As far as sending you some that'll be free of charge. I'm sure I will have 40 more questions about how to do this.
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Re: Growing pear tree from seed
treeroot wrote:DEERSLAYER wrote:Sounds like a good tree. If you ever do any trimming the following years growth is good for grafting. You usually need at least a foot of growth to get full sized buds on the stick for grafting. Two feet of growth is much better. Trimming is usually necessary on an old tree because the older ones just don't grow much without some help. Horizontal growth is best but vertical "sucker" growth can be used in a pinch & is usually better than nothing. If you ever do some trimming & don't mind sending me some scion wood the following early spring before green up let me know how much $$ you want & I will give it a try.
When do you recommend trimming?
As far as sending you some that'll be free of charge. I'm sure I will have 40 more questions about how to do this.
A month or two before spring green up. Before the buds begin to swell. You can trim anytime between now & green up though. Some people just prefer to to wait until after the coldest part of winter is over in case they get extreme cold & damage from it. Not an issue for the average person, but I still prefer early spring.
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral
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