Suggestions for top dressing an early blooming Asian Pear

General Fruit Growing
1

I have an Asian Pear (Shinseiki) that is 8 years old and has never produced fruit since it blossoms 4 to 6 weeks before my other Asian Pears. It already has flowers on it now and I know another hard freeze is on its way to North Alabama before our last frost date of Mid-April.
Any recommendations on what I can graft to this tree?
Is it worth bothering with if the scions would not wake up until the tree is past blooms and in full leaf?

2

You can graft both Asian and European pears on your Shinseiki tree. You will have to look around or check with local orchards what varieties are late bloomers in your area.

In a colder climate like mine (zone 6a), most pears’ bloom time is overlapping, a big help for cross pollination.

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3

My worry is this one blooms so early the scions may not take after grafting. It may be 4 to 6 weeks. I have 4 other Asian Pears that do not have this problem.

4

I am not very sure what you meant but as long as scionwood is dormant and you graft it on this tree when the tree starts to leaf out, graft should take (if cambium is lined up and the graft union is wrapped tightly). In fact, pears are very forgiving. Grafting pears is very easy.

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5

Thanks. That is what I did not know. I did not know if a scion will stay dormant on a tree for weeks and still take.

6

Since your Shinseiki blooms too early for you and is susceptible to late freeze or hard frost, if I were you, I would find out what other late blooming pears (that you have not had) are.

This is a good time to ask for dormant scionwood in the Trading Post catagory. Since the Shinseiki is flowering/waking up, this is the time to graft. Scionwood may stay dormant if the weather is cold and start to push buds when it gets warmer.

However, with the mother tree actively growing, it may affect the graft to grow sooner. Usually, a graft that is growing will do fine if temp does not drop below freeezing and frying those young, new leaves.

You don’t know if you don’t try.

7

As mamuang said grafting pears is easy. I did one in early July and it survived.

8

So far I am getting a good growth on most of the scions. I did an oblique cleft graft and now have a couple on each branch. Nice problem to have.