Is it possible to plant a pear on an apple tree

There is one interesting fact that any seasoned gardener is familiar with. However, unfortunately, many newbies do not know about it. It says that the pear and the apple tree are actually related plants. This means that they can be grafted onto each other. Also, when carrying out the pear grafting operation, it is important to note that, in addition to their relationship, the pear and the apple tree have something else in common: both of these plants are pome plants. This further emphasizes their similarity and is an important detail when we talk about vaccination.

However, not everyone is able to carry out this extraordinary procedure. In this article, we will look at all the rules and techniques for grafting a pear on an apple tree, and also draw your attention to the most common mistakes, which, obviously, would be better not to make.

Is it possible to plant a pear on an apple tree at all?

Since you are reading this article, then, obviously, it is quite possible to do it. In addition, this relationship provides the gardener with a huge range of possibilities, namely:

1) The ability to experiment with different combinations of "neighbors" and receive a nice prize as new taste qualities of the fruits of both trees.

2) Replacing the small fruits of your tree with low palatability for the tastier and more marketable looking fruits of another tree.

3) Opening up new possibilities for the spaciousness of your garden: instead of two trees, you will have only one that bears fruit for two.

4) Treatment and renewal of the stock.

5) Allowing the root of the rootstock and the branches of the scion to exchange strengths and supplant each other's shortcomings.

In addition, it is one of the fastest known ways to get a completely new fruiting plant. Naturally, provided that you do everything correctly and follow the instructions.

In addition, it is not necessary to plant the pear on the apple tree. There is also the possibility of planting an apple tree on a pear, since these plants are absolutely equal and have approximately the same biological properties.

Important!

Do not forget about the timing of vaccinations. They are very important, and for each season there are rules that are vital (of course, for your tree) to follow.

Let the wrong time for vaccinations, improperly taken actions or inappropriate weather conditions will not kill your apple tree, however, the vaccination will definitely be rejected and your long work will go to waste.

Features of pear grafting on an apple tree

All over the world there are hundreds of thousands of gardeners who are fond of grafting some fruiting plants onto others, and among them there are certainly those whose garden is decorated with apple trees with pear cuttings grafted on them.

However, this procedure is not an easy one, and even those who really wanted to plant a pear on their apple tree faced unforeseen circumstances in which the plant simply rejected a new branch, suppressed it, and the poor pear died.

From the clear signals that your vaccination is not going according to plan, it can be distinguished that the place of the scion begins to grow significantly. This can be explained by the fact that the scion and rootstock are not completely compatible. As a result of this conflict, the tree shows a painful reaction.

There are several possible ways to solve this problem.

For example, there is a very powerful and easily explainable method. If the grafting was carried out in the spring, then over the summer some small branches will definitely grow on the scion. We will need these branches, because they were grown on the juices secreted by the stock, and, therefore, they are much more compatible with the apple tree than the very first graft. The same procedure is carried out with these branches next spring, and as a result, the tree does not give off rejection, but allows a graft already familiar to it to grow on its trunk.

The second method is no less effective. It consists in the fact that between the rootstock and the scion, another layer is placed, represented by another rootstock. Such an intermediate tier will affect the whole plant: both the new and the scion, allowing them to grow together much better.

The timing of pear grafting on apple tree

Some gardeners believe that the time of vaccination does not affect anything at all. However, it is better not to listen to them, because they are not only important, but also one of the determining factors for the success of your vaccination.

Spring grafting

Spring is the best time to get vaccinated. However, spring is also divided into a large number of periods. And we are interested in the period of movement of juices. And, to be more precise, the period before it. It is at this time that it is best to vaccinate. As a last resort, you can choose the peak of the activity of the movement of the juices. One way or another, when choosing any of these two options, the survival rate will tend to one hundred percent.

However, it is not worth delaying at all: by the time the apple tree blooms, the process must be completely completed. The time of vaccination within a day should be chosen based on many factors: temperature, windiness and humidity. It would be better to choose the day when these factors will not fluctuate too much between day and night, because a sharp drop in temperature or strong winds can simply kill a fresh graft.

Naturally, freezing during vaccination is even more undesirable.

Advice.

The most attention should be paid to the night temperatures, because it is the night that is most often destructive for young plants. If it is warm, then you can not worry about the scion.

It is best to prepare cuttings for grafting in spring in advance. However, in the case of apple and pear, even freshly cut branches can be used. If you nevertheless decide to prepare cuttings, they should be stored at a temperature not exceeding 4 degrees.

Summer vaccination

While spring is the best time for grafting, summer treatments are also common. For summer vaccination, months such as June and July are most appropriate. However, you should not wait until the very end of the season: the first days of July should be the last possible starting point for you.

If the summer is particularly hot, the stalk can be protected with a special non-woven material. So it will definitely not be scorched by the sun, and the vaccination will be successful with a much higher probability.

Approximately in September, you should pinch the young leaves of the scion to allow them to ripen well before the onset of severe cold weather.

Autumn grafting

Although some gardeners practice fall grafting, we do not advise you at all to even consider this option. Due to unpredictable weather conditions, constant rains and winds, this season shows the worst results in the race for survival rate. The shank may well simply die in such fierce conditions if it is not strong enough. Therefore, if you still choose autumn, the vaccination is carried out exclusively at your own peril and risk.

Vaccination technology

There are countless methods of grafting fruit vaccinations, and each of them is in demand from someone. However, we will not waste your time and consider exclusively the best and most effective methods that even experts use.

Grafting secateurs

For any process in the garden, a special tool has long been invented, and grafting has not been left out.The grafting pruner is a type of garden shears that can be unified for any particular case of grafting. For example, its cutting part has many different profiles, each of which is suitable for trimming scions and rootstocks of a wide variety of colors and sizes.

Their use is especially convenient, since the cuts on the scion and rootstock will match perfectly, and no adjustment is simply required. Both the wood and the cambium layers match as if these plants were destined for each other.

However, along with the arguments for, there are arguments against such pruning shears.

Among the positive qualities are:

1) Distinctive simplicity of the operation

2) Unrivaled cutting speed

3) The ability to carry out a huge number of vaccinations without losing productivity

The negative sides are that:

1) With the help of such a pruner, you, unfortunately, will not be able to work with scion and rootstock of different thicknesses. The pruner is suitable exclusively for identical branches. Otherwise, you will have to return to the primitive grafting with a knife.

2) The pruner, in contrast to the same knife, does not work so delicately, and very much crushes the tissues of both the rootstock and the scion. As a result, the overgrowth will be slightly longer.

3) It is extremely difficult to qualitatively disinfect the instrument, as a result of which bacterial infection of both the scion and the rootstock can occur.

Budding

Peephole vaccination, also known as the peephole vaccination, is one of the most popular methods of vaccination. And there are reasons for this, because it is quite effective and efficient. Unlike some other techniques, the ideal time for budding is not spring, but summer. Namely - its middle (July 10-15).

Budding itself is also divided into several types:

1) Oculation with a sleeping eye

2) Budding with a sprouting eye

Sleeping eye grafting is best rescheduled until mid-summer. However, even these dates are quite relative, because everything depends on the region in which the apple tree is grown: the further south, the later the grafting should be started.

Actually, the bud itself, which we will call the "Eye", if all the conditions have been met, will take root and begin to germinate in early spring, when the snow melts. However, if you are in a hurry and start the procedure too early, germination will not start at the right time, and the peephole that has blossomed in the fall will simply die in winter.

However, this does not mean that the vaccination should be deliberately delayed. A belated procedure will also not lead to anything good. The peephole, in the short period that will be allotted to it, will not have time to be grafted at all and will die.

Budding is best suited for those regions in which warm springs and hot summers reign. The eye for the procedure is taken shortly before the procedure itself: the day before or just before the procedure itself.

Detailed instructions for carrying out vaccination by budding, as well as several features and points on which you should focus your attention.

1) If nature does not endow it with moisture, I do not divide before the procedure, it is advisable to water the stock abundantly: this will make the wood more pliable.

2) The bark, both the scion and the rootstock, is thoroughly wiped at the sites of the procedure to remove all kinds of contamination.

3) A T-shaped cut is made on the stem of the stock (at a height of about six centimeters above ground level)

4) All leaves are cut from the cuttings selected for grafting, leaving the buds. This very kidney is cut with a special budding knife.

5) When cutting a bud, do not forget that along with it you will need wood tissue above and below it (within a radius of about one and a half centimeters). This "scutellum" should include bark and cambium.

6) The pre-cut bark on the rootstock is gently pushed to the sides. A shield is carefully inserted into the resulting "window", on which the kidney we need is located. After that, the flap is fixed as tightly as possible.

7) After all the procedures performed, it is necessary to protect the resulting incision. To do this, we need a special tape, which, moreover, will make sure that the flap is held tightly enough.

8) You will easily notice a positive result in two weeks. If all instructions have been followed, it will clearly be seen that engraftment is in full swing.

9) By the fall, the bud will begin to sprout one way or another. After the appearance of 3-4 leaves, you need to pinch them so that the scion successfully survives the winter and can grow next year.

Bark grafting

This method, in addition to its effectiveness, is incredibly simple. The most suitable time for it will be spring, or rather, its middle, when the movement of juices in the plant just begins.

Important!

Make sure that the bark separates well from the wood.

Detailed instructions for carrying out vaccination for the bark, as well as several features and points on which you should focus your attention.

1) The first thing to choose is the rootstock. If it is already selected, you can make a neat saw cut with a hacksaw. If the cut is not neat, it can be cleaned with a knife.

2) It is better not to choose rootstocks that are too thick. Four centimeters will be more than enough. If your stock is more than two centimeters, then even two scions can be selected for grafting.

3) A neat vertical cut is made on the bark. Its length should not exceed three to four centimeters.

4) The edges of the bark are gently pushed to the side. Thus, a kind of pocket is formed.

5) If you have already chosen a cutting, make sure that it has at least three buds. After that, make an oblique cut on the handle. Its length should be approximately equal to three diameters of the scion, but it can be measured by eye.

6) After that, the stalk is carefully inserted into the pocket prepared for it with a cut to the core of the rootstock. However, a little cut should still be left uncovered, in order for the overgrowth to go faster and better.

7) As in the previous method, the cutting site is wrapped with a special tape, which will protect the cut and strengthen the scion. Also, the vaccination site can be lubricated with garden varnish.

This situation can also occur: the thickness of your rootstock is only slightly greater than the thickness of the cutting. In this case, you should resort to the method of grafting for a bark with a thorn: the bark of the stock is cut to wood, and a cut is made on the handle, but not simple, but with a ledge.

Copulation

The grafting of cuttings, the buds of which are already sufficiently developed, is called copulation. This process does not depend too much on the season, therefore it can be carried out both in summer and in spring. However, autumn is still not a desirable period.

However, there is a rather simple condition: the stalk from the stock must comply with this parameter: its growth for the current year should not be less than 20 cm.

Advice.

Oddly enough, however, experts have found that copulation has one unusual feature. It shows a much higher survival rate if the apple stock was grown from seed.

The essence of the copulation grafting method is quite simple. It consists in the fact that we collect the scion and rootstock, like two pieces of one puzzle. To do this, we need to make the same cuts on them. They should be made at an angle of approximately 30 degrees. If, applying the scion and stock to the cut, you see a perfect match, then we can congratulate you on a successful operation.

Improved copulation

While standard copulation is a fairly reliable method of grafting, the improved copulation method is obviously better than it.

In this case, as in the previous one, we need cuttings with the same diameters. And, as in the previous method, we make the same oblique cuts on them.

After the slice is ready, we proceed directly to the improvement that improved copulation offers us.It is the tongue. Its thickness should not exceed two and a half millimeters, and the tongues on the scion and rootstock should be parallel.

This is done so that the bark of the scion and the bark of the rootstock better match with each other, which will result in a much faster and safer fusion. After most of the operation is over, it will be possible to start wrapping and processing the vaccination site.

For the most successful grafting, it is necessary to harvest the cuttings in advance. It is desirable in November that they have buds that have not yet begun to develop.

We have already discussed the storage conditions: the room must be sufficiently humid, and the temperature must be maintained in the range from 1 to 5 degrees.

Nevertheless, pome crops, which, as you already know, both apple and pear, can be grafted with fresh cuttings.

Also, if you really want to be vaccinated, and winter is just around the corner, you can consider the dense crown of a tree as a place. The vaccination should be done exactly, after which the site of the operation is covered with a special tissue.

Important!

The choice of the season is important precisely because the buds should never grow in winter. This can negatively affect the quality of the entire procedure.

Cleavage grafting

This is the method of choice for many gardeners, and for good reason. This method is extremely versatile, because, unlike many others, it allows grafting of a cutting of any thickness on a stock, which also has any thickness.

This method prefers one particular season, namely spring. It is when the plants have not yet entered the vegetation stage that it is worth grafting into the split.

This method is not complicated and intuitive, when the rootstock and the scion have approximately the same diameter. However, even when you need to plant a thin stalk on a wide stump, this method does a great job, showing, moreover, an excellent survival rate.

Detailed instructions for carrying out inoculation in a split, as well as several features and points on which you should focus your attention.

1) First of all, it is necessary to prepare the stock for the operation. To do this, you need to thoroughly clean it. If the stock is completely ready, you can proceed: the second step will be to cut a thin wild game at a height of 10 to 15 centimeters above ground level. After that, the cut site is carefully processed

2) After that, we move on to the key step: you need to make a deep cut on the rootstock (up to five centimeters in depth). To do this, if the stock is not too wide, you can use a hacksaw and even a knife. However, if the stock is wide, you will have to work with an ax. When the cut is ready, you will need to insert a wedge of wood into it.

3) When the stock is fully prepared, it is time to prepare the scion. To do this, we need to choose a suitable stalk of annual growth. The buds on this cutting should not be lower than the depth of the rootstock cut. The lower part of the cutting, which will go into the stock, is cut off, forming a wedge. However, be extremely careful:
In no case should you touch fresh cuts with bare hands, because you can bring an unpleasant infection into the tree.

4) The fully prepared cutting is placed in a split in the rootstock. It is very important to ensure that the cambium layers are completely aligned.

5) The wedge, which we formed from the bottom of the cutting, is not completely inserted into the split. A small part of it should be visible in order to improve the splice.

6) If the stock is thick, two or more cuttings may well take root on it.

7) To protect the site of vaccination, we use the already well-known garden varnish and a special grafting film. They will serve us well while the young shoots are defenseless.

Important!

The closure of vaccination sites is a critical process that should never be underestimated.If not taken care of, a harmful infection may well enter the plant, which will be extremely difficult to get rid of.

As already mentioned, it is best to use pre-prepared cuttings for grafting, but the use of freshly cut cuttings is also not taboo, and this method is quite widely practiced at the present time.

Side slice grafting

This method of vaccination is extremely useful in some isolated cases. For example, when you need to fix a one-sided section of the crown on an apple tree. The fastening of the stock and the cuttings using this method is extremely strong and reliable.

This vaccination does not have to be done in any particular season. Both spring and winter treatments are possible.

Detailed instructions for the lateral incision inoculation, as well as several features and points to focus on.

1) a stalk is selected on the rootstock, which has at least two buds. On it, it is necessary to make a side cut in such a way that its length is equal to three to four diameters of the cutting.

2) Now the cut is made on the scion handle. It must be done at an angle of 45 degrees, and its length should still be equal to three or four diameters of the cutting itself.

3) after both sections have been prepared, they must be combined. If you did everything correctly, they will connect without unnecessary difficulties. However, if the scion comes in tight, do not be afraid to push. You will need to make some effort in any case.

4) The vaccination site, as you probably already guessed, is treated with garden varnish and wrapped with a special grafting tape.

Bridge grafting

This method of grafting pears is somewhat non-standard and is used, for example, if you need to replace the damaged bark of an apple tree.

These vaccinations are often given in the winter. If rodents have spoiled the bark of your tree, but it has not yet completely dried up, the apple tree can be saved by grafting with a bridge.

To do this, all the remaining bark is removed, and its upper and lower edges are connected by a number of young cuttings. As a result, a structure is formed that resembles a lattice or bridge.

This time, the cuttings are prepared without leaving a single bud on them. We simply don't need them. Both ends of all cuttings are sharpened. The pointed grafts are inserted into the bark (using the instructions written in the description of the bark grafting).

Also, keep in mind that the cuttings should be slightly longer than the damaged bark area in order to allow them to bend. After the job has been done, the grafting sites must, as you are already used to, be treated with garden varnish and wrapped with a special grafting cloth.

Columnar grafting

Often, columnar apple trees are damaged, as a result of which it becomes necessary to replace the broken part with some kind of scion.

However, let's be honest: such an operation is unlikely to be crowned with success due to the peculiarities of this kind of apples. Perhaps the only thing that you will be able to plant is the same columnar pear, but even the choice of this variety does not guarantee your survival rate.

So if you are thinking of replacing the damaged branch with any other plant: it probably won't work.

Vaccination for wild

From the seeds of varietal apple trees, wild trees most often grow, which few gardeners want to see in their possessions. And one of the reasons for this is that plants grafted onto such a rootstock cannot fully reveal their potential. Most often they live less than average and do not bear fruit as much as they could.

Therefore, if you are thinking of grafting a pear specifically on a wild apple tree, it is better to abandon this idea.

However, wild apple trees that grow in the forest, and not from the seeds of varietal trees, do not have this disadvantage and can make a good stock.

Conclusion

Mastering vaccination skills is one of the most important steps in the journey of an experienced gardener.They give you a lot of useful experience, teach you patience, caution and vigilance.

In addition, many are wondering why grafting pears on apple trees at all. Well, now you have a couple of simple and logical answers that may even make you change your mind and help you decide on this previously unknown operation.

Helpful hints:

1) The tree, both for the choice of the scion and for the choice of the rootstock, is chosen exceptionally healthy. Otherwise, not only the scion cutting, but also the mother tree may die.

2) If you want to plant several varieties on one apple tree, you need to carefully calculate the ripening time and make sure that the difference between them is not six months.

3) Grafting should be carried out as quickly as possible in order to stop bacteria attempts to infect the plant.