Late hanging Crabapple sized pears

Charles Clear

5 year old buck +
I’m always on the lookout for late crab apples, but lately I have been finding a lot of these small pears. 1.5” to 1.75” pears, some are mushy, some are not. Anyone know what these are? Perhaps a rootstock that took over a neglected tree? Could they be good deer food? Would it be worth trying to graft some to rootstock?
 

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Callery mixed with something, possibly Russian or Manchurian. No one really knows, and there isn't much info out there. I've been finding more and more of these since I started looking for them. I think it's a relatively new phenomenon that is part of the spread of Bradford crosses, etc.
 
I found a similar tree and grafted it a few years ago. They're now 7-8' tall but not yet fruiting. The parent tree trickles down for several months and usually finishes dropping right about now. The fruit is gritty and taste terrible IMO, but fruit is never found on the ground and it's always tore up with sign despite being in a heavily populated and busy area. I watched it fruit very heavy crops a few consecutive years, tried and failed at growing out it's seed, then successfully grafted it after my 2nd attempt. Since grafting, the parent tree hasn't fruited the last 2 years making me think it's susceptible to late frosts. I do now believe it's a Callery hybrid...I also suspect Morse's popular "Hybrid Pear" is as well. I'll watch these trees for a few years after they start producing. If they show low deer preference or inconsistent production I'll graft them over to a standard pear type.
 

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Callery is possibly an invasive. They can really spread easily and get out of hand. They are a decent wildlife food...but so is honeysuckle.
 
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