North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lucky.Pittman@murraystate.edu" <Lucky.Pittman@murraystate.edu>]

        Pear grafts to apple will take, and when you think it may produce, do 
not be upset
when it just dies or falls of by rejection and incompatibility.


        Jason,


        Several years back, I bought a bundle of seedling pear rootstocks and 
lined them
out in the orchard.  When they first started to leaf out, I grafted several 
different
pears onto them.  Some took fine(Ayers, Magness, Warren), others I regrafted 
two
or three times that season before I gave up(Pineapple, in particular) - then 
I came
to the realization that at least half that bundle of 10 were apple seedlings. 
 The
three pears on apple are still alive after 3-4 years, but two have just sort 
of
'stalled' out after the first year of vigorous growth.  The third still looks 
very
good, but is quite dwarfed.  I'm leaving them on the apple just for 
curiosity's
sake, but have taken scions and regrafted these varieties onto pear, in the 
event
that they don't persist.


        Weather was great down on the Gulf Coast earlier this week - upper 
70s, water still
a bit cool, but tolerable for swimming &boogie-boarding. Drove back up to 
Auburn on
Wed, and it dropped to 28 here at my parents' place that night - Dad fears it 
got
the few surviving plum/blueberry blossoms/fruitlets. Centennial crab is 
loaded with
blooms, but appears to be unscathed.  Wonder what things'll be like when we 
get
back to KY.


        Lucky Pittman