Two topworked Callery Pears after one year

[Native Hunter]

Last year a friend of mine had an ancient old pear tree that had to be cut down, but he didn't want to lose it. I took scions and topworked Callery pear sprouts to save the tree. The pics below are those trees today (about a year later). From his description of the fruit, I suspect that the old tree was a Kieffer. but we should know for sure in a couple more years when the grafted trees start bearing and I can compare them to my Kieffers. PS - I actually did 4 trees. I dug one up and gave to him in the winter and another one got whacked by a strong storm. These two below are the ones I kept.

 

[Mozark]

Grafts are looking good Native! There are a few ancient pear trees behind an old homestead where I bow hunted years ago, I always considered them to be Keifer. Ive spent a few hours metal detecting around the old home, not so much as a penny. I know they didn't have much, especially after the civil war in this area. I wonder how many of these old trees are Keiffer seedlings, any thoughts?

 

[Native Hunter]

Grafts are looking good Native! There are a few ancient pear trees behind an old homestead where I bow hunted years ago, I always considered them to be Keifer. Ive spent a few hours metal detecting around the old home, not so much as a penny. I know they didn't have much, especially after the civil war in this area. I wonder how many of these old trees are Keiffer seedlings, any thoughts?

It's hard to say how many of them could be Kieffer Seedlings, but my guess is that some could also be Kieffers that someone planted. In the olden days lots of fruit trees were shared by digging root sprouts, because grafting was not always well known like it is today. We have an apple tree started from a root sprout that is flowering for the first time this year. We dug it up about 10 years ago from an old homeplace. I remember that apple, and it was a highly DR apple that ripened mid summer. I'm looking forward to eating it again.

 

[White Oak]

It's hard to say how many of them could be Kieffer Seedlings, but my guess is that some could also be Kieffers that someone planted. In the olden days lots of fruit trees were shared by digging root sprouts, because grafting was not always well known like it is today. We have an apple tree started from a root sprout that is flowering for the first time this year. We dug it up about 10 years ago from an old homeplace. I remember that apple, and it was a highly DR apple that ripened mid summer. I'm looking forward to eating it again.

Native , I know you're an experienced Fruit tree grower...and a lot of people rave about pears for wildlife. My pears are relatively young , planted in 2019 . I have Dr Deer pears, Kieffers , Moonglow and a couple Nativ Nursery Wild deer pears. Last year was the first year for a decent amount blossoms and a late frost got them...and out of all my trees , only one of my Nativ Nursery wild deer pears grew 3 pears. We had a warmer than normal winter this year, and the pear trees blossomed out 2-3 weeks earlier than normal and all the trees were LOADED with blossoms....but of course we got 2 frosts and appears like the frost killed the blossoms again , AND it's supposed to dip down to 32 on Sunday after being in the 80's the last two days. I'm in zone 7 , and if I don't get any pears this year I doubt I'd plant anymore. I'll be sticking with Crabapples from PA , like Whitetail crabs & Blue Hill , they all seem much hardier and the frost doesn't seem to bother them compared to pears , plus the crabs blossom out later than Pears ...My Whitetail crabs planted in 2020 have all had crops....so far haven't had a single blossom on any of my 2021 planted Blue Hill Crabs, but they appear to be growing well . Have you had years where you didn't get pears from frosts ?. I do have 2 Rut Rage pears coming from Whitetail crabs...supposedly being delivered today....but going forward I don't think I should plant any more pears.... I need something more consistent like Crabs.​

 

[Native Hunter]

Native , I know you're an experienced Fruit tree grower...and a lot of people rave about pears for wildlife. My pears are relatively young , planted in 2019 . I have Dr Deer pears, Kieffers , Moonglow and a couple Nativ Nursery Wild deer pears. Last year was the first year for a decent amount blossoms and a late frost got them...and out of all my trees , only one of my Nativ Nursery wild deer pears grew 3 pears. We had a warmer than normal winter this year, and the pear trees blossomed out 2-3 weeks earlier than normal and all the trees were LOADED with blossoms....but of course we got 2 frosts and appears like the frost killed the blossoms again , AND it's supposed to dip down to 32 on Sunday after being in the 80's the last two days. I'm in zone 7 , and if I don't get any pears this year I doubt I'd plant anymore. I'll be sticking with Crabapples from PA , like Whitetail crabs & Blue Hill , they all seem much hardier and the frost doesn't seem to bother them compared to pears , plus the crabs blossom out later than Pears ...My Whitetail crabs planted in 2020 have all had crops....so far haven't had a single blossom on any of my 2021 planted Blue Hill Crabs, but they appear to be growing well . Have you had years where you didn't get pears from frosts ?. I do have 2 Rut Rage pears coming from Whitetail crabs...supposedly being delivered today....but going forward I don't think I should plant any more pears.... I need something more consistent like Crabs.​

Yes, I have many years that I have excellent pear crops, but my pears planted on low ground (frost pocket areas) struggle the most. In those low ground areas my crabapples are more likely to produce. On the high ground areas, I see very little difference between the reliability of apples and pears, but I might give apples a slight edge.

One problem you will likely have with some crabs in your zone is that they will turn to mummies and hang on all winter. That’s what Golden Hornet does for me; however, the northern guys don’t have that problem. So far I have not found a better deer apple than Yates. But, my guess is that some of my Blue Hill apple crabs could be as good or better when they mature.

 

[White Oak]

Yes, I have many years that I have excellent pear crops, but my pears planted on low ground (frost pocket areas) struggle the most. In those low ground areas my crabapples are more likely to produce. On the high ground areas, I see very little difference between the reliability of apples and pears, but I might give apples a slight edge.

One problem you will likely have with some crabs in your zone is that they will turn to mummies and hang on all winter. That’s what Golden Hornet does for me; however, the northern guys don’t have that problem. So far I have not found a better deer apple than Yates. But, my guess is that some of my Blue Hill apple crabs could be as good or better when they mature.

Thanks....My tree plot IS in a slightly lower area but I had to put it there (sort of the center of my property) to conceal it from neighboring properties. I have a kid with permission the hunt the land next to me that puts stands and blinds 10 feet from the line directly facing my land. I'm not planting trees for him to hunt over.....my tree plot can't be seen from the property line . Time will tell , all my 2020 Whitetail crabs had several dozen / maybe more crabs last year...and some did turn into mummies like you said. I have 5 Blue Hill crabs planted in 2021 and so far not one blossom, but them seem to be growing well. I have a Liberty and 2 Enterprises coming from Whitetail crabs supposedly today ,,, IF I can get a order in for 2024 with Blue Hill I will get a Yates and a few apple crabs for sure......

 

[H20fwler]

Man that is some great growth on those!

 

[g squared 23]

So what did you do as far as pruning/selecting a leader? I’m checking out a couple topworks tomorrow at my uncle’s place and don’t know what the next step should be.


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[SwampCat]

Native , I know you're an experienced Fruit tree grower...and a lot of people rave about pears for wildlife. My pears are relatively young , planted in 2019 . I have Dr Deer pears, Kieffers , Moonglow and a couple Nativ Nursery Wild deer pears. Last year was the first year for a decent amount blossoms and a late frost got them...and out of all my trees , only one of my Nativ Nursery wild deer pears grew 3 pears. We had a warmer than normal winter this year, and the pear trees blossomed out 2-3 weeks earlier than normal and all the trees were LOADED with blossoms....but of course we got 2 frosts and appears like the frost killed the blossoms again , AND it's supposed to dip down to 32 on Sunday after being in the 80's the last two days. I'm in zone 7 , and if I don't get any pears this year I doubt I'd plant anymore. I'll be sticking with Crabapples from PA , like Whitetail crabs & Blue Hill , they all seem much hardier and the frost doesn't seem to bother them compared to pears , plus the crabs blossom out later than Pears ...My Whitetail crabs planted in 2020 have all had crops....so far haven't had a single blossom on any of my 2021 planted Blue Hill Crabs, but they appear to be growing well . Have you had years where you didn't get pears from frosts ?. I do have 2 Rut Rage pears coming from Whitetail crabs...supposedly being delivered today....but going forward I don't think I should plant any more pears.... I need something more consistent like Crabs.​

I have two kiefers from two different nurseries planted several years apart and they both always bloom before last freeze. I have two Moonglows - both bloom after the kiefer is finished - with one blooming two weeks after the crab apples.

 

[Native Hunter]

So what did you do as far as pruning/selecting a leader? I’m checking out a couple topworks tomorrow at my uncle’s place and don’t know what the next step should be.


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I gradually train to a central leader over the next few years rather than trying to do too much too early. I once had a nice topworked tree to die, and I attribute that to me getting in too big of a hurry to shape it. A topworked tree needs a lot of leaf to sunlight exposure in order to gain the energy to recover. I also want the cut to heal completely over as soon as possible, and leaving all successful scions in place will help with that.

I will also say that I shape pears less than I do apples. The first one in my pics above will likely be okay with no further shaping, because you can see it already making a nice shape for a pear, with pretty good scaffolding branches already starting. The second one needs work, because it is definitely headed for a double leader. I will gradually take care of it.

Finally, I am not opposed to occasionally shaping some trees with an open center (especially apple trees) as they do in some other countries. If a tree is strongly prone to growing that way, I may make an exception and allow it.

 

[g squared 23]

Thank you for the response, I hope you have a great Easter.


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[Mozark]

It's hard to say how many of them could be Kieffer Seedlings, but my guess is that some could also be Kieffers that someone planted. In the olden days lots of fruit trees were shared by digging root sprouts, because grafting was not always well known like it is today. We have an apple tree started from a root sprout that is flowering for the first time this year. We dug it up about 10 years ago from an old homeplace. I remember that apple, and it was a highly DR apple that ripened mid summer. I'm looking forward to eating it again.

Thanks for sharing that Native, I would enjoy seeing a pic of it this summer, if you get a chance.

 

[Native Hunter]

Thanks for sharing that Native, I would enjoy seeing a pic of it this summer, if you get a chance.

I will try to remember to do that Mozark. It looks like we are headed to an incredible apple crop this year, and I'm going to be tasting some new apples as well. It might be worth starting a thread by itself.

 

[Mozark]

Had a really good fruit set here too, some trees set a massive crop. Maybe ten new apple varieties bloomed this year, I was hoping one of my seedling black twigs would throw some blooms, no luck. Frost last night hit the pears hard, along with chestnuts, persimmon, and english walnut.

 

[Native Hunter]

Had a really good fruit set here too, some trees set a massive crop. Maybe ten new apple varieties bloomed this year, I was hoping one of my seedling black twigs would throw some blooms, no luck. Frost last night hit the pears hard, along with chestnuts, persimmon, and english walnut.

Wishing you the best with the freeze.

 

[Derek Reese 29]

I am thinking of doing this same thing soon...I have a fence row just off my property that a nice gent owns and I just learned that those callery pears were not planted there on purpose...My plan is to approach him soon and see if he would be cool with me lopping off a couple of them and grafting some different varieties on to them...just have to wait to see what he says..

 

[blueKYstream]

I started out planting pears (among other things) at my hunting property. I've been most impressed with Becton in my short time. I've seen fruits again this year despite multiple freezes. Granted, all are on high ground. I haven't had a chance to check some of my other varieties to see if they are fruiting for the first time. After moving last year, I grafted this callery growing on the fence line into a frankenpear. The tall branches are ones that made it through 75 mph winds. A few of the grafts snapped. I t-budded some in the Fall. The remainder I grafted this Spring.



There were a load of callery pear rootstock along the creek that runs through the back. I grafted all these varieties. They've been slower to leaf out but I believe all now have green buds and ready to go when the temperatures warm back up.

(Picture from a couple weeks ago)

A short distance away is a patch of alba mulberries. I grafted those over to more desirable mulberry cultivars. Even the cut branches of the alba want to produce berries.

One of a few crabapple grafts to my Liberty, Enterprise and Winesap apples.

 

[BrushyPines]

Just topworked 2 pears that did not end up what I expected. The pears produced looked very similar to Callery. I checked them this weekend and the scion buds are swelling and starting to turn green. I left a nurse branch for both trees. This is my first time to ever graft. When should I cut the nurse branch off?

 

[Native Hunter]

Just topworked 2 pears that did not end up what I expected. The pears produced looked very similar to Callery. I checked them this weekend and the scion buds are swelling and starting to turn green. I left a nurse branch for both trees. This is my first time to ever graft. When should I cut the nurse branch off?

I don't ever leave a nurse branch.

 

[BrushyPines]

I don't ever leave a nurse branch.

I was told by others here to leave a nurse branch to feed the root system. Would you cut the nurse branch off now or leave it for a little longer?