Hi, I have a very old pear tree. It's been in our family for approximately 100+ years. It's recently experienced some wind damage and almost half of the tree has broken and fallen. It's still attached to the truck -- enough that the downed portions are now starting to bud.
I'd like to find out how I should go about propogating this tree. Can I use some of the downed limbs to get new starts going? Is this something that can/should be done now that it's starting to bud out, or do I need to wait until for more softwood growth for cuttings? Thanks!
So sorry to hear of the damage to your wonderful old tree. You don't say if this is a fruit bearing tree or an ornamental. You can plant the seeds from the fruit but you won't get the identical fruit as you won't know which tree crosspollinated with it. Either way you can take cuttings, which is what I would suggest so you get the same tree. Is yours a fruit bearing tree or an ornamental? Do you know the particular variety? This will help with which method of propagation to use.
Pear trees are notorious for having brittle limbs and poor crotches so good pruning practices while it's young are important to help it form a strong structure. Once we know which type you have I will give you some sites on how to prune your new tree.
Gosh, now I wish I'd asked you where you live. I suspect either your ancestors brought this pear from Europe or it may be a native pear. Unfortunately most fruit bearing pear trees don't do well on their own rootstock so you may need to graft this tree. Can you see a graft at or near the base of the tree? Do you know how this tree came to be planted? Do read 'Pear rootstocks' here. http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/treefruit/422-017/422-017.html
"The Farmer Cooperative Genome Project (FCGP) based in Junction City, Oregon, seeks to increase the diversity of crop seeds offered for sale to small farmers and gardeners, teach organic farmers how to regenerate seed, and eventually provide the ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) with additional seed and information."
"The germplasm system is a network of 26 repositories nationwide that preserve and regenerate seed and other reproductive tissues—known as germplasm—of crop plants and their wild relatives. The system houses more than 400,000 accessions comprising more than 10,000 species. An accession is a genetically distinct group of plants, such as a crop variety or wild subspecies that has been added to a collection."
"Hannan and Haapala believe everyone could benefit. "Many of these farmers are interested in heirloom varieties and traditional crops that might not be getting much attention from customary germplasm users, such as breeders and botanists," Hannan says.
Interest in unusual crops could be wide-ranging, agrees Joseph Postman, an ARS plant pathologist at the National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon. The Corvallis site stores, for example, 250 ancient pear varieties.
"We have pears that ripen earlier than the normal harvest season, old English pears that provide a fermented beverage of interest to some microbreweries, and pears with Siberian or Manchurian ancestry that could extend production into cold climates where there is no commercial pear production," says Postman.
"A pear tree can live more than 100 years, so each heirloom pear tree planted by a farmer essentially becomes a mini-repository—a future source for that cultivar."
NPGS staff will benefit from the project by receiving information they wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to collect. An example would be data on how a specific variety grows without pesticides in a cool climate such as Oregon's Willamette Valley. "This might be the first information gathered on a particular accession," says Hannan."
From this site which might have some contacts that might be helpful as well. You might also be able to id the pear you have by searching at google with the names like:
Beirschmitt pear http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark/heirloom_pears.html
"American heirloom pears are extremely rare 19th and 20th century pears of American origin. The different varieties (listed below) fluctuate from big to small in size and pale yellow to deep brownish yellow in color. Their tastes and textures vary from sweet to spicy and gritty to smooth.
Pears are one of two dozen plants known to have been cultivated of over 4, 000 years, and their decreasing diversity in the US and worldwide is of considerable significance. Sources for pear materials were once abundant in the US but are now rapidly disappearing."
Thanks for so much information. I found it very useful.
I live in Indiana. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the fruit. I'm realizing now how helpful that'd be. Hopefully, the part of the tree that is still upright might produce again this year and I'll get a picture. It'd be interesting to find out what variety it is.
The "story" of this tree, as it's been passed down through generations, is that my partner's grandmother moved in here as a young child in 1896. She & her sisters used to say the pear "was old" when they were kids. So, there's really no telling how long it's been here. The tree (and house) has been in the family since then.
I don't see a graft on the tree. I think I might try a couple of different things in order to give it my best shot at a successful propogation. I'm going to try some cuttings and the air layering technique.
In the various readings I did (from the information you provided), it indicated that pear trees don't do well with self-pollination and that multiple pear trees of various varieties would help. There are no other pear trees in our yard, but we've continued to have a decent harvest of pears. I wonder how much it might be improved if we were to have other trees -- even if they were of the same variety (starts from my propogation attempts)....
In any case, I truly appreciate all your help & links. I tried to do some searches on my own, but wasn't able to come across the information you provided to me. I'm sure that took a lot of time on your behalf, but it's greatly appreciate on my behalf.
Debbie, you are so very welcome! It did take a bit of time to find that info, but I do this so often that it doesn't take me as long to search as it does most folks.
I forgot to mention that you might want a certified arborist to look at your tree so it can be properly pruned. Depending on how the break is, they might need to prune in other areas to balance the tree. They might even be able to give you some idea of the age or type of pear you have. It might also be worth contacting some folks from those links so the tree can be preserved or propagated for other generations. If the tree is salvagabel you might want to consider nominating it as a Champion Tree. As far as I can tell there is no champion pear listed in Indiana. http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/pdfs/bigtree2005.pdf
Wait! There reason pears are not considered true from seed is because of the cross pollination issue!?! Does this mean self fertile pears with a long history of bearing fruit away from other trees might have seedlings with very similair characteristics.
My folk have an old pear tree, we do not know the name, early fruiting, self fertile, rarely misses a year, very juicy and sweet. We have always called them sugar pears because when ripe it is like eating sugar syrup with a little pear flavor. The tree is showing its age and I'm trying to save a graft. If the seedlings of self fertiles tend to grow somewhat true I will try that as well.
Any one know the likely success of an attempt of grafting old European pear onto a Dolgo crabapple. The root stock was well established and going to be pulled out of the ground otherwise.
You asked, "There reason pears are not considered true from seed is because of the cross pollination issue!?!"
Yes
You asked, "Does this mean self fertile pears with a long history of bearing fruit away from other trees might have seedlings with very similair characteristics."
Yes
You asked, "Any one know the likely success of an attempt of grafting old European pear onto a Dolgo crabapple."
Did you read the link I gave to Dlheinrichs about pear rootstocks? I know that pears can be grafted to quince rootstock but I don't know about crabapple. I think you'd need to ask an expert on that one. Do read through those links as you might be able to get some help with this.
