This is a big box store “Kieffer” pear that sets bloom late January every year. So for the third time buying Kieffer (at a box store——slow learner!) I don’t think that is what I got. So if it wasn’t a Kieffer it is now. First time I’ve ever done this and y’all can probably point out lots of mistakes. I left about three branches with original growth and no graft. The tops of all these branches were dead from the recent blizzard.
Thanks @ncdabbler!
I might be game to partake. Is it ok to share cuttings from CCPP?
You need to do some sort of stake system, Katy or birds will destroy it fast.
Your cuts (looking at the electrical tape as reference) are about 1/2 as long as they should be cut.
I’m sure you’ll get one!
Dax
Stakes are going up but dinner was ready tonight… 
too funny!
Katy,
What would you like the shape of the tree to be?
I used to let my apples and pears grow because I was not sure what I was doing and afraid of pruning wrong limbs. A few years later, they are out of control and a lot more difficult to rein them in.
For you, this is the time to determine what structure you want the tree to be. You did not ask but I don’t want you to make mistakes I made (several times due to my indecistion)
Most of those are bark and cleft. I do probably need to take the Temflex down as far as the parafilm goes (which is a better indicator of where the graft union ends. Good tip!
then your tape isn’t down far enough.
bark grafts need to go twice that distance of shown electrical tape.
I really don’t have a plan. Pears are funky and most of mine are a mess too. I think I hate pruning more than anything else.
I haven’t done a lot of bark grafts and a bit confused about them. How do you insert the scion and get the bark to meet back to the edge of the cut. Do trim the scion down to nothing? Im sure the size of these limbs and the size of the scion is pushing the limits and perhaps they should have been cleft grafts.
Lol. I have a rootstock that I’m going to load up with Asian pears.
when you don’t have fine grained wood that is strong as steel as it should be for all grafting, then you have to curve the cut to remove the ‘unchambered pith’. You eventually have to have all solid wood that is inserted, under the bark.
here it is in anyone’s mind.
You begin about 3" up from the bottom of the stick and whittle or carve a “c” shape and then continue that “c” to a long 3" cut. You eventually have all the pith removed. That “c” sets atop the rootstock that you lop off, horizontally, as a fresh cut; the long cut that is now wood and non-chambered pith having been removed is inserted under the bark.
there are many ways to insert a scion under the bark. I usually make two long cuts parallel and vertical that are wider than the scion to insert the scion.
I think so. I can’t imagine a problem with sharing shipping costs. I’ll PM you as few others wanted to pool the orders too.
The camera angle of that top worked tree may have play a trick on me. For sure it looks like if not prune now, the tree will likely be a mess.
I don’t like pruning because I have difficulty visualize things (how my tree will grow)
Result? I removed 3 multiple grafted trees this week, losing about 50 varieties altogether in the process. They were too messy to keep, 
I actually probably have less of a problem looking at messy trees than you do. 
I have very little “tree culture”.
There are going to be at least three of those limbs pruned back…the ones that are not grafted I will cut away once I see how many takes I get. Who knows…I don’t think the tree is very healthy after the blizzard we had because it was already blooming before the cold weather hit. The upper limbs were black. I don’t really know how pear cambium is supposed to look but to me it looked kinda weak. It did have some leaves growing on all branches but who knows…the whole tree may die. If so I have a tractor to pull it up and I got a lot of grafting experience. I figured it was worth a try. The only other option would be to cut it off on the main trunk and put a bunch of bark grafts on. But for three years I have not had fruit after all the blooms were killed by frost/freeze. If it lives I can shape it up.
katie, are they all keiffer?
Yes. Since I’m not sure how they will do I didn’t want to put any other scion on it
