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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] hardy pear r/s for zone 3

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  • From: Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] hardy pear r/s for zone 3
  • Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:47:06 -0500

I recently talked by phone to Jim Coutts of Unity, Saskatchewan, the son of the late Art Coutts, a NAFEX member who was Dr. Patterson's technician at the University of Saskatchewan and who carried on his own fruit breeding after his retirement. Jim is carrying on his father's work.

Jim told me that the Coutts' prefer to use for rootstock, seedlings of the hardy Russian crosses between Pyrus ussuriensis and P. communis, such as Michurin and Fedorovsk. My guess is that seedlings of Olia and Tioma might suit. He mentioned that one could also use seedlings of John and its siblings, but I gather that he prefers the seedlings of the earlier-made and hardier crosses. Unity is in Ag Can zone 2a, colder than Sasakatoon in 2b.

My guess is that Canadian prairie nurseries like Aubin and Jeffries
*might* sell bundles of liners of such seedlings. They are now wholesale
only and their websites are limited-access.

I recall from an old report of the Agriculture Canada station at Harrow,
Ontario that they found that Moe seedlings made good rootstocks. This
was one of a series of selections made at Ottawa between commercial
North American pears and hardy Russian pears if I recall rightly (my
copy of Brooks and Olmo is buried in a cupboard at the moment).

I unearthed a file card recording from a gentleman near Manotick,
Ontario (near Ottawa) who had them in the 1970s that "Enie, Menie, Minie, Moe and Phileson ripen in succession from mid-August to early September. Pick before colour changes to yellow or birds will attack causing rot. O-291 is late, will keep till Christmas." Of course, I expect that Moe seedlings would only suit zone 5 or maybe 4.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario



Sarah Kehler Ewing wrote:
Hi Derry,

I use Siberian Pear seedlings for rootstock. I have had some trouble when
grafting some of the pear varieties I got from Canada's Clonal Genebank and
I'm hoping that was a timing issue with the budwood being shipped from the
East. I have had nearly 100% success grafting on some super hardy pears from
Russian which have Siberian Pear in their parentage. But maybe Siberian Pear
rootstock has the same compatibility issues that I've heard about (and
experienced) when grafting regular apples, without Siberian Crab in their
background, onto Siberian Crab rootstock.

Sarah Zone 3b
Edmonton, AB

--- On Sun, 1/18/09, derry&bill <wchase@interchange.ubc.ca> wrote:

From: derry&bill <wchase@interchange.ubc.ca>
Subject: [NAFEX] hardy pear r/s
To: "nafex" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Sunday, January 18, 2009, 5:10 PM
What are people using as a hardy pear r/s? For zones 2-3-4
for example.

Derry Walsh
South coastal B.C. where we routinely use Quince r/s





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