Well done, Jason! The grafts look great! Hoping to graft a couple of pear trees next season. Picking my first fruits off of my first graft with Dapple Dandy. It is a good feeling to see your first grafting efforts be successful 
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I used a pruning saw to cut all of the branches off of the tree. Then I used a pocket knife to slit the bark and peal it back for bark grafting. I cut the wedge on the scion with a razor box knife. I taped around the limb with cheap electrical tape( it has less sticky to it). Last I covered the stump and cut ends of the scion with some latex caulk.
yes it is Patty, it has really been an exciting experience. Much more interesting than buying a tree that has already been grafted and planting it.
It had been great watching this top worked pear grow out. I put a lantijajuli on a smaller side branch. I wasnāt sure it would do as well in that spot. It took it longer to start to grow and it was always behind the other grafts. it put a couple of small branches on and started growing straight up to the sky. It has continued to stretch up into the sky. I put the measuring tape on it tonight and it is 70 inches tall. It is hard to believe it was a tiny stick in the fridge last spring!
Derby,
Take care of that one. It is supposed to be the Fragrance pear in the New York Post article.
Tony
Yes , I am very excited about it. I plan to cut it back this winter and use the scion wood to put more grafts on the tree in different places.
Great job Derby! This looks like a great place to ask a question about this process. I have done this many times before but thatās not to say Iāve always done it right just because I get fruit. Normally the rootstock sends out new shoots as the grafts grow out. I am waiting this year for cold weather to trim off that rootstock growth to avoid disease. Historically I trimmed new growth as it happened and covered the spot with pruning seal. This year we have had a lot of rain and Iām afraid of Fireblight. I grafted over a large amount of pears like this last year. What are your thoughts? I top worked this one a year ago.
Iām interested to hear what some of the experts have to say about the new growth. I think your pear tree looks really nice. Mine still looks a bit chopped but it was very big and it is going to take some time to heal. I used a bark graft and really didnāt have enough scion wood to space evenly around the stumps to keep them alive the way I would have wanted. I rubbed off all new buds every day or two all summer until about the third week of July. I have left them with the idea I can take scion wood this winter and graft onto the shoots next spring. I think it will help ensure I have several backups of each verity. I also think they may grow out into more stable scaffolds then some of my bark grafts. In fact , when I started this project , it was suggested that I cut off the tree this spring and let it sprout for a season and then whip graft onto the shoots. No doubt sound advice, but it had been fun watching it grow this year.
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Clark,
Your multi grafted pear tree looked good, but if you don/t want a tall tree then lower the top down a bit. I also think the center is a little congested. You maybe want to prune out some vigorous vegetative growths to let the air circulate.
Tony
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Not an expert, but I agree with Tony and will suggest that you consider pulling some, if not all, of the verticals that you keep to a flat or even weeping habit in order to persuade them to spur up. Donāt let new vertical shoots off of those trained branches get out of hand. Do nip them back to three leaves and see if they will form spurs.
I havenāt used this approach long enough to unequivocably recommend it, but it seems to be helping in both my pear and apple.
I apologize for not remembering who first brought this technique to our attention, but thank you! Sorry that I have not found time to keep up with everything lately.
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We had thunderstorms come through last night so I went out before dark and pruned 18 inches off my lanti graft. It survived the storm just fine. We had four inches of rain last night and some wind. The wind really wasnāt as bad as I thought it would be but I think it was still a good idea to cut it back.
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Derby42,
I was hoping you could give us an update and let us know how your tree is coming along?
Sure Clark, I went out and looked it over last night. It still has some leaves on it but I suspect those will drop soon. All 8 pear types I grafted on have at least one graft that has survived. The stumps are so large I wonder how well the will heal over. I put heavy aluminum labels on each limb to keep track of the different varieties. I plan to harvest some scion wood this winter and back up my bark grafts with some whip grafts to some sprouts I let grow late in the season. It looks a little sad with the leaves starting to drop but Iām sure it will look better after another growing season. I have room to add a couple of other varieties. I am planning on putting a magnes on and maybe something else. I would like to use the tree to supply me with scion wood for my grafting projects in the future. I grew a couple of seedling pears this summer that I plan to top work . I have all of my bracing in place still, we are supposed to have 40 mile an hour wind gusts here tomorrow. I have been really impressed with how long the grafts grew and also with how large of diameter they are now. In fact I am a little concerned that I did not allow the sprouts from the tree to grow enough so that it may be challanging to find a fit for a whip graft.
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I bet you will get fruit within a couple of years. The sooner you make backup grafts the better.
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Yes I think so too. I have enough sprouts that I allowed to grow to give me plenty of places to graft back ups and add a few new ones, I thinkā¦
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You never know when a good storm or something else will come in and take out a tree. Wild callery here are cheap for the price of gas and time. When pears are that easy to come by a few backups trees are great.
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I have some ohxf 87 on the way this spring. I donāt have much wild callery here locally. Hopefully I can get them all backed up and I will put up fresh bracing when they leaf out. I will cut some of them back next month and that should also help take a lot of the stress off of the graft.
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Derby,
Did you get your ohxf87 rootstock? How are things shaping up this season?
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I have not received them yet. My old big pear that I top worked is greening up and will be ready to graft this weekend.
Have you grafted pears yet