This is an interesting thread if anyone wants to send me some sticks of large fruited callery scion wood I have rows of rootstocks I could use to graft. Later those trees could be used to make some crosses. Would really like to preserve these as I think they are valuable for breeding. Would like it better if the usda Corvallis or another entity was interested in these. Honestly I have endless space to grow them in.
Callery are exceptional rootstocks in my opinion. They work particularly well where nothing else will grow. Imagine someone wants an orchard but but farmed out old ground will barely even grow grass and yet callery rootstocks grow like a weed.
This sounds like a good pear growing project. Please let me know if your in and want to send me some wood this winter. You already know from past threads if you want to try something unique in fruit growing I’m the right person Che, mulberry, osage orange, fig grafting . I’ve made some good crosses and some of my unique fruits are out there New Apple Seedling Varieties
The genetics on these wild pears is valuable for future crosses. My suspicion is that clustering callery pear crossed with the others will produce a valuable cross within 2 -3 generations. I suspect the seeds will produce large fruited seedlings and standard callery if they are not sterile. One of these large fruited callery contains the genetics of a valuable tree. It would be as important as Asian or European pears possibly. They could possibly grow in marginal areas like western Kansas, Texas and Colorado not known for pear growing. Like the clarks crabapple they have potential but further breeding is needed. The seedlings of the clarks crabapple might be even better than the seedling is now. Think of apples and pears that grow like grapes. Those valuable seedling genetics have been bred out of many fruits. Everything hated about the wild callery are what makes them so valuable. Imagine if people in the areas with very poor soil could grow pears and apples. Think of them as being prolific like what a cherry tomato is to tomatoes. The problem has always been people’s greed that impeeds progress. They want to get paid for new crosses with patents and they are obscure with their research. Money has certainly motivated people as well. People like me don’t care about the money I want to see the world become a better place than we found it. Imagine how many people a pear like that could feed. A pear like that could make many people’s lives much better.
@clarkinks that tree is a bit of a drive for me to get to it. If it was closer I’d say I can get those scions no problem but where this tree is growing is a place I dont go to often. I really didnt want to make any promises on it yet but I do intend to get some scion if I’m out that way this winter.
Found another “large” fruited roadside pear this weekend. This one is near the one I mentioned above, in an area with 100+ seedling pears along a ditch. This one appears to be much more like a European pear, with a very upright habit and about 15 feet tall. Fruit was crunchy and sweet, with moderate astringency. I could actually take multiple bites, and it would be very good with a little less astringency. Not very productive compared to the adjacent seedlings. The one with bubblegum flavor and intense astringency a couple hundred feet away was really loaded with fruit (about the size of a US quarter), on a tree that was totally callery looking. I’ve noticed a ton of callery seedlings along the roadways recently. Once the leaves drop a bit, the fruit should become much more obvious.
That seedling looks very promising! See how long they hang into winter. You never know they could be good wildlife pears if the fruit hangs into winter.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Callery pears in western Pennsylvania but it’s possible I never knew to look. I believe Bradford is the ornamental type I tried to top work (way too early in the season) this past year. Any chance I’ve just missed these excellent rootstock trees in the area?
That makes a lot of sense. For some reason I didn’t put two and two together until now. Sounds like I might need to convince some friends with Bradford’s to let me do some grafting too.
Thanks for sharing Clark! I’ve used a dibble bar at work for a couple thousand trees and shrubs in wetland plantings. They are very nice (and very efficient) once you get used to the method. Successive smaller holes to fill the first is important. How did those mass plantings turn out versus your Callery pears?
That is the best way to speed up the process of getting scion wood to bear fruit. Your seedling scions should bear within a year or three when grafted on a mature tree. That is an old breeders trick.
Now that I have started to look for them, I just noticed the entire property beside a tractor supply nearby is loaded with 5-10ft tall Callery pears. Some larger fruit than others. Easily in the hundreds if I started to count
