Just a reminder to those who dont know this rootstock the thorns are wicked! They are a fantastic rootstock.
Any idea what is the natural proliferation rate of BET vs Callery?
1 Like
Callery outgrows BET at first and ohxf outgrows both for the first year. In my area everything out grows harbin. Ohxf97 grows 30% faster than ohxf333 by the 2nd year. Ohxf87 is similar growth to ohxf97 but slightly behind it by maybe 10%. Callery overtakes ohxf by the 3rd year and outgrows it sometimes by double by the fifth year. BET will be at least 30 -50% ahead of BET by the 5th year. In good soil a BET hits 18 feet by the 5th - 7th year and Callery will be at 12 - 15 feet depending on variety. There are hybrids of both! Many bartlett seedling rootstocks are fantastic well behaved rootstocks but the rabbits , deer , and fireblight for starters are all problems with them. Ohxf333 does not have much steam which makes it a fantastic dwarf in heavy clay. It still grows big if you let it but very slowly after 5 years. That delayed growth is concerning long term. It will likely run out of steam very early on and BET will be around in 100 years with plenty of vigor.
3 Likes
I meant more of the self-planting rate, but your post was very interesting nonetheless.
I have definitely seen Callery trees compete with grass and grow so well without any babying. I see Callery all over the place, especially in ditches. I also have OHxF that nearly died (maybe deer pressure) but it is rebounding. BET definitely out grows OHxF (even when OHxF had another year in ground). After 3 OHxF died, I only planted BET, and am experimenting with grafting on seeding Calleries.
1 Like
BET does not self seed here i dont let it. Im afraid of a field full of those thorny trees. Had one bloom this year!
I’m wondering BET would be competitive to Callery. Both have tiny fruit that I assume same bird species could disperse. Perhaps we only hear of invasiveness of Calleries because of it’s ubiquity in ornamental landscaping. Perhaps BET could be invasive as well.
1 Like