Winter bannana

General Fruit Growing
1

Is winter bannana compatible with Bradford pear

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I have used winter banana as an interstem to graft pear on to apple tree. Fuji/Winter Banana/Harrow Sweet. The graft is still alive. So I would think it’ll take on Bradford pear too. But my graft is only a couple of years old. I think Auburn has been doing this longer so he might be able to comment on long term compatibility.

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It has a reputation as the most compatible apple-to-pear graft, so probably.

I have one that I grafted onto hawthorn last year. It barely grew at all, but it does seem to be waking up this year, much to my surprise.

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Several years ago I attempted two grafts of Winter Banana directly onto Callery roots and both failed. Two fails doesn’t determine incompatibly but it is an indicator. Since then I have used various interstems and some appear more compatible than others.

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So maybe a compatible pear, then winter bannana then the apple you want.

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A couple of my more recent grafts that look promising are between Harrow Sweet and Winter Banana. I also have another Asian pear that is an unknown variety that looks even more promising between Winter Banana and even other apples.

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@Derby42
That little yellow pear i sent you last year or year before works as an interstem for most things. Ive used it several times to graft to ungraftable pear trees! Apples though i dont know but if anything would work it will!

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@Auburn and others: Are you finding Winter Banana sort of compatible with pear or fully compatible, such that the apple scion on top of WB produces quality fruit? I’m thinking about Kittageskee or Sundance on WB on Callery. What do you think? Helping a food bank develop a low cost orchard so digging up free Callery saplings would fit right in. Already plan to graft five or six blight resistant pears directly on the Callery.

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I tested a few varieties with WB before I moved. They seemed to grow okay but I don’t know how they would do long term. I did these grafts just for fun.

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I only have one apple growing to pear at my new place. This is the combination. Unknown Asian/Bud9/Bastian Orange. It is a limb that is about 2.5’. The Bastian Orange might actually be Trailman.

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Thanks. Anyone else grow apple on Winter Banana on pear over a long term to assess apple fruit quality?