as some of you know , i have grafted my mtn. ash completely over to 7 different euro. pears . all are growing good. too good. the growth on most of them is getting too heavy for the mtn ash limb to support so ive been cutting off some of the growth lately to encourage laterals to grow closer to the graft area. seems to be working so far. anything else short of tying support that i can do to get the tree to support the branches better or am i fighting a losing battle?
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I’m not completely sure what you mean. Did you framework the mnt. ash ?
And the central trunk/ mnt ash side branches are not strong enough to support the vegetative pear growth? Or is the fruit load to much?
If the fruit load is to much, you could thin some for a few years, until the framework branches thicken up.
If it’s the center of the tree that’s to weak, I’d graft lower on the mnt ash and build up a new trunk/framework completely consisted of pear.
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the mtn. ash branches a are sturdy but the new pear growth is so long/ heavy the branch instead of growing up has turned around and is growing down. im assuming the growth is too long to support the whole new growth. its grows vertical until it gets about 20 inches long then starts to turn the branch down. i was tempted to just leave them alone. would be cool to have a weeping pear but wasnt sure if they wouldnt snap off at the graft from the extra weight. no fruit on this tree yet.
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do you have a picture of this?
I have no experience with grafting on mnt ash. But in this case I’d probably prune the long thin pear shoots back, to promote the graft union to thicken up, and start making side branches lower.
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thats what ive done. pruned the growth back to 8in. they have good sized laterals coming out now. not all had to be pruned but may need to in the future if they start to turn. problem is the way mtn ash branches grow . its grows out about 14in. at a 40% angle from the main leader and then grows strait up. well thats where i grafted. what i should have done is cut back the branch to that angle and graft to that instead. then the scion probably would support the weight of it better. ill see how it goes and maybe next year ill regraft all those scions. have plenty of fresh wood now. 
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