Subject: Re: Rooting pear tree cuttings

From: [email-masked] (Ellen Sutter)
Date: 15 Mar 1995 10:37:08 -0800

I am sorry to disappoint you, but you are going to have very little, if
any, success in rooting your cutting unless it is an easy-to-root variety
such as Old Home.  Since Old Home is a rootstock and not the fruit bearing
scion (usually) I doubt you have that variety.  If the cutting has not
broken bud I would wrap it in moist newspaper or peat moss and put it in a
plastic bag in the refrigerator.  Then you can save it until later in the
spring and either bud it or graft it onto a suitable rootstock.  Can you
graft the scion later?  That is absolutely your best bet for pear.   I may
be able to help you more if I know what variety you have.
        Ellen Sutter

>        I recently got a single cutting (about 6 inches long, last year's
>growth) of a pear tree that I'm anxious to root and grow.
>        I know that grafting is the best way to go, but that's just not
>feasible right now.
>        I know how to root hardwood cuttings, but that is normally done by
>taking the cuttings in Fall, keeping them moist and refrigerated during the
>Winter and planting out in the Spring. Obviously, I have to bypass that
>scenario.
>        What method should I use to root this cutting. It is currently sitting
>in water in a cup in the refrigerator. I has been a fairly mild Winter here
>in the Midwest and the cutting showed absolutely no signs of growth.
>        Thanks in advance for input.
>
>- Al Wojcik
>  Ford Motor Co.