Perhaps you can pick them when the first frost is expected, and see if they ripen indoors. They do all right here, in the Willamette Valley, ripening in October. A long wait for them, but this year it looks like I have about a dozen. It is a good year for pears in general. The tree was planted in 2014. I remember my excitement the first year my Shannon actually produced a few pears. And the taste, which I had heard about, was as good as described. But if that octogenarian sold them at the farmer’s market every fall, to a lot of people, either he had a lot of trees which were fairly old, or maybe they start making heavier crops when the trees are very old.
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20 years passes quickly. @disc4tw you have time to plant a Shannon pear and it would be very satisfying for me knowing you would be around to eat them. People like yourself establishing your orchard now are perfect candidates to grow pears like this. Any of the younger orchardist starting out will find this group very generous with knowledge and resources to give you a hand up. You likely have plans of your own for your new orchard. Please post us some more photos of the new orchard when you have time.
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I’d love to make space for something special like this. I imagine limb spreading techniques could influence earlier fruiting on a variety like this, but my girls will be enjoying this one long after I’m gone. You can’t rush greatness, right? Plant pears for your heirs!
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Wow that’s beautiful and it is a young tree! Very impressive we would love to see more!
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It’s the rootstock that makes the difference, BA29, which is low vigour, fast producer, lower output. I am curios If the pears will be tastier than the best autumn pears in my orchard Douchess d’Angoulem and Beurre Geoagiu
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Every location has an ideal rootstock Pear Tree Rootstocks - Mehrabyan Nursery
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Pear Tree Rootstocks
What is a rootstock?
The different pear tree rootstocks control the tree’s size, vigor, precocity (how early the tree bears fruit), cold hardiness, and partly disease resistance (such as to fire blight). In order to grow a reliable and high quality fruit tree, growers graft the scion, which is above the ground and responsible for the fruit’s characteristics and disease resistance, onto the rootstock, which is underground.
In this article we will cover:
Pear Rootstocks Development History
Although fruit tree growers practiced grafting for centuries, most of the rootstock growers now use have been developed only in the 20th century. In fact, most pear rootstocks come from three species, pyrus calleryana (a pear tree native to China and Vietnam), pyrus communis (a type of wild European pear), and cydonia oblonga (Quince).
Throughout the world, rootstock development programs have created different rootstock series. For example the South Africa breeding program created the BP series, the German breeding program created Pyrodwarf, and the American breeding program created the Old Home and Farmingdale series (OHxF).
In fact, Prof. F.E. Reimer from Oregon State University visited Mr. Benjamin Buckman farm in Farmingdale, Illinois in 1915 where he collected scionwood from a blight-free pear tree and named its clone ‘Old Home.’ Then he collected another scionwood from a blight-free pear tree and named the second clone ‘Farmingdale.’ After much research with these trees, they found that the OHxF crosses were blight-resistant, grew sturdy wide-angled branches, were resistant to pear decline, and were also an excellent compatibility bridge for quince.
Common Pear Tree Rootstocks
Below, we describe the most popular and successful pear tree rootstocks and their characteristics, such as the height at maturity.
- However, while a rootstock does affect the size of the tree at maturity, the variety of pear, the soil type, the amount of sun and the way the tree is pruned will also have a significant impact on the ultimate height.
- For example, Asian pear trees grown on Pyrus betulifolia rootstock will still be dwarf even though the Pyrus betulifolia seedling will grow to a standard size.
- Therefore, when you see below the height of the tree at maturity, remember that it is an approximate maximum.
Pear Tree Rootstocks by Size at Maturity
Dwarf Pear Tree Rootstocks 6-10 ft
Quince C
Quince C is a dwarf rootstock that can be pruned to about 7-8’ in height. Additionally it can grow well in most good to average soil. Moreover, it will start bearing fruit in 2-3 years.
Pyrodwarf
Pyrodwarf is a dwarf rootstock that can grow to 6-8’ tall with regular pruning. As with other rootstock, growing it in a good soil will allow the tree to bear better and higher quality fruit.
Semi-Dwarf Pear Tree Rootstocks 8-12ft
OHxF 87
OHxF 87 produces semi-dwarf trees that are resistant to fire blight and pear decline. Additionally, it is one of the best producing rootstocks of the OHxF series.
OHxF 333
OHxF 333 is a semi-dwarfing pear rootstock with a resistance to fire blight, collar rot, woolly pear aphids, and pear decline. However, it is not very precocious and gives few fruit.
Quince A
Quince A produces trees about 9-14’ tall and somewhat more vigorous than Quince C. Additionally it grows well on average to good soils. Moreover it is cold hardy and very productive in about 3-4 years.
Quince BA29
Quince BA29 produces vigorous trees which are ideal for orchards. Additionally it is cold hardy and extremely productive. Moreover, it does well on poorer soil.
Semi-Standard Pear Tree Rootstocks 10-16 ft
OHxF 97
OHxF 97 is not only resistant to pear decline and fire blight, but also provides good anchoring and yield efficiency. Additionally, it’s hardy and resilient to cold. Because of its vigor, it is best planted 8-12′ apart in a row. Moreover, OHxF 97 is less precocious than OHxF 87.
OHxF 40 ®
OHxF 40® produces semi-standard/semi-vigorous pear trees. Additionally, they are resistant to fire blight, crown rot, woolly pear aphids, and pear decline. They are also precocious and well-anchored. However, if you graft onto Bosc scion, the tree won’t be very precocious and will have fewer and smaller fruit.
Standard Pear Tree Rootstocks 14-20ft+
Pyrus betulifolia
Pyrus betulifolia produces vigorous trees which can tolerate a wide range of soil conditions. Additionally, it’s the most resistant to psylla feeding and pear decline when you graft it to a Bartlett scion. If you graft onto an Asian pear, the trees can grow to about 9’ tall with pruning since Asian pears are naturally small and precocious.
How to Select a Rootstock
When choosing a rootstock, the two primary considerations are how compatible the rootstock is to the scion and secondly the climatic and environmental conditions of the site. Some of these environmental considerations include how well the rootstocks adapts to the soil and the disease pressure on the site. Other considerations include productivity and precocity (bearing at a young age), how well the rootstock anchors, and what size tree is optimal for your site. Moreover, a rootstock that grows well in one location, may not grow well in another. In some cases, you may even want to plant a less vigorous tree since if you plant in ideal soil, you can control the tree’s height, reduce pruning costs, and maintain a high yield.
If you would like to have high-density plantings, you can choose dwarf rootstock such as Quince. However, since Quince is not compatible with many varieties such as Bartlett, Bosc, Forelle, Packham, Triumph, Winter Nellis and Eldorado, you must use an interstock (intermediate graft section). If you can plant larger trees, you can use other semi-dwarf, semi-standard, or standard varieties such as the OHxF or any Bartlett seedling rootstock.
For Asian pears, Pyrus betulifolia or Horner is a very compatible rootstock. For European pears, the OHxF series, especially the OHxF 87 and 97 are great choices. Not only are they resistant to fire blight but they also produce healthy trees.
For more resources
- https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/120229/pear-rootstocks.pdf
- Rootstocks for Pear | WSU Tree Fruit | Washington State University
Interested in planting grafted fruit trees?
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4 thoughts on “Pear Tree Rootstocks”
Lee Jordan says:
I just purchased Douglas Pear Tree scions from a man in Oxford N Y. I am interested in what you recommend as a good rootstock for grafting. I am new at grafting fruit trees. I have a farm in Columbia County Pa and I have gardening and farming part time most of my life. I just retired from working 40 plus years and I am now trying to start my own tree. This Douglas Pear tree is kind of special to me and I would like to have one one my farm again.
Surik Mehrabyan says:
Hi Lee,
It’s very nice to hear that you are starting to grow your trees! I also grew up on a farm in Armenia and continued to garden and grow while working when my family moved to New York.
There are many rootstocks for pears, but I am using 3-4 varieties of rootstocks for our pear trees.
Here they are:
Quince: This is a quince seedling and it is a good choice to get a 50% of standard pear tree.
OHxF333, 87, and 97: the advantage of these rootstocks, are that they are fire blight resistant, which is a very important factor for pear trees. If you like to have trees that are close to a standard tree size, use OHxF97. The other two rootstocks make your tree about 60-70% of the standard pear tree size.
There are many other rootstocks, but when you order them be sure that they are fire blight resistant.
Best,
Surik
John Ryan says:
Hi Lee,
Do happen to have the name of the person where you purchased the Douglas Pear Tree scions?
misty walston says:
Lee would you be able to share where you bought the Douglas Pear Tree cuttings from? I’ve been looking everywhere
Comments are closed.
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Thank You for the information!
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