I’m not sure if the beast rootstock Callery can be totally controlled so I’m attempting to train it with lower limbs that are pulled down to about 7-8’. The limbs are getting long and in the picture I let this one encroach over the fence to entertain the grands. The pictured limb has about 75% apples this year. The lower section is Natchez blackberries on the fence trained with the primacane suppression method. The berries look better than they have in several years.
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Callery is difficult to control. There are several ways to reduce its growth that I use at times. I have one growing on my side of the fenceline very close to a neighbor. When we see a monster tree growing in a spot like that we know we need to control it or kill it. The reason I’ve always advised against growing callery for Asian pear rootstock is because they are at least not vigorous enough and in some case incompatible so I’ve not seen them make a full sized tree. Asian pears fruit quickly and unless they are put on a rootstock such as beautifolia or Harbin they seldom get full sized before they runt out. A full sized tree is 30 feet and up. Back to callery rootstocks if we want the tree short we can graft Korean Giant or a similar Asian pear to the rootstock. I grafted an Asian pear on a full sized callery pear and it’s blooming now after 2 years and it grew 3 feet. Harrow sweet and harrow delight will similarly runt out a rootstock. You don’t want to use a low vigor rootstock such as ohxf333 under any of the pears I just mentioned unless you want a very tiny tree which is some situations a pear bush is nice. Remember aronia and other small bushes are compatible with pears but that’s a different topic discussed already http://www.growingfruit.org/t/compatibility-grafting/4664
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Did I read that right, you’re growing apples on a callery pear rootstock? Can somebody explain how that works?
I only have 1 grafted callery, but my experience is that’s it’s a monster, a little frightening actually. I’ve got 5 different pear varieties on it and most of them have grown 10+ feet over the last 2 years.
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Yes this is correct. I have been grafting apples to callery for about six years now with mostly good results. In this case pears was first grafted to the callery and then an interstem of apple and them the desired fruiting variety of apple. Winter Banana is the typical interstem choice but it is by no means the only option. Long term compatabilty is still to be determined so if you attempt this I would mostly consider it a fun venture. Adding in apple grafts that usually escape cold weather when they bloom appears to help hold down the excessive growth whenever the pears don’t hold their fruit. Hope this helps.
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The runting is the result of early fruiting. It can be counter-balanced to some degree by removing flower buds and removing whole spurs in favor of vegetative wood- always cutting back to upward growing shoots. In the nursery, all varieties of pear trees can be prone to runting out in the course of transplanting- sometimes it is mysterious with some trees of the same variety sustaining vigor while others go completely into fruiting mode. Obviously, the more precocious the variety the greater the odds of a problem.
I also have trouble in my nursery with Arkansas Black apple trees going all spur growth, even on 111 rootstock. I have small trees growing very close together in a fenced area at first and move the trees that get big enough to stand up to deer bare root- often disturbing the roots of nearby trees. This creates the runting of the Ark Blacks which even in the best circumstances are the last to size up due to its spurry growth habit.
If you prune a bit late you can strip off flower buds quickly with a gloved hand. This can be very useful for trees flowering heavily before they are strong enough to hold a real crop. You especially don’t want the leader to be bent down from the weight of crop.
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I put a Leona on Calleryana with a OHxF 51 interstem in February, hoping the interstem will slow the vigor slightly. We’ll see how it works…
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Leona is an aggressive growing pear http://www.growingfruit.org/t/leona-pear/6481. I’m not trying to slow it down now but if I was I would girdle the top.
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Hey Clark,
Do you girdle the top during dormancy, is topping what you mean by girdling the top? How do you like the eating qualities of the Leona pear? Thank you for the details about Leona’s growth.
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@Ortegojeffrey
I’ve not eaten Leona Leona Pear pear fruit yet so I can’t say how it tastes. Many people say it’s good. When I talk about girdling there are a variety of ways to do it Want early fruit? Do the girdle. Originally I did it by accident with a peace of tape or wire tag and everything above it the next year had fruit. Ive also cut a slight ring around figs to get them to produce quicker How do you make those stubborn varieties produce fruit? . That fig I girdled did produce figs. I’ve see cicada cut branches to lay eggs and cause the trees to fruit excessively the following year http://www.growingfruit.org/t/17-year-cicadas-woke-up-hungry/1602
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