Is this a graft chimera? (Conference Pear + Quince C rootstock)

Great idea, looks pretty bare but I’ll try.

With the thorns and round leaves it also looks like european wild pear Pyrus Pyraster (but also not dwarfing).

That was my thought as well. The spurs, thorns and different types of leaves and branching habits are seen often in the lower branches of seedling pears. Could it be grafted to a seedling - and that the rootstock isn’t Quince at all?

If those are seedling traits it almost makes me think it could be a chimera more, like it’s something new emerging.

For anything other than quince C or E to be sold as dwarfing / patio in Ireland would be very unlikely. We don’t have much variety here, just the same basic options done the same way again and again. 99% of dwarf pears are quince C.

I know the rootstock was dwarfing in effect because the conference scion flowered after 2 or 3 years and was only like 3 to 4ft tall. Seedlings certainly aren’t dwarfing.

I could imagine a seedling interstem, but there was only one graft line, and conference doesn’t have quince incompatibility to need an interstem, and a seedling would be crazy to use as a compatibility interstem for quince because the compatibility would be unknown for a random seedling.

Unless the eventual flowers or fruits are very obviously not pear like, I guess the only way to ever really tell would be genetic testing.

I did email my old uni plant science dept about it but no response yet. If it’s true there’d be a good paper to publish in it.

@MiGiMo @nosummer

Let me give you a close up of some of my BET rootstocks

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I’ve got own root pears as well as pears on semi-vigorous rootstock which flowered at that height (which are not known to be naturally dwarf cultivars) so I wouldn’t use that as a evidence the rootstock is dwarf.

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It’s definitely evidence it’s a dwarfing rootstock, it’s just not proof. It’s further evidence that it was sold as a patio dwarf then acted like one.

Like I said before only real way to tell is a DNA test. Otherwise I’ll just keep observing until it flowers and fruits for further evidence.

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I’m confused about why you feel so strongly that it’s a chimera when there aren’t any Cydonia traits showing to indicate it’s anything other than straight Pyrus of some sort. No harm in being hopeful though. Chimeras are fun.

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My main reasoning is there’s a third thing coming directly from the graft union. Other reasoning is above.

Ireland is small, I have like 5 online nurseries to order from total, they all sell pear on quince (A or C) 100% of the time. It’s a small supply chain, so the rootstock is the bit I’m probably most confident about tbh.

I’m not certain at all, but I am interested and suspect it could be true, so I’m observing and researching it and asking opinions on a great fruit forum :grin:

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If you look at +Pyrocydonia Danielii there aren’t any quince traits you can point directly at, though it’s fruit are round not pear shaped, but so are some other pyrus.

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