Had a brief but fascinating exchange with Lon. R. at the scion exchange in Portland last weekend, when he told me that Winter Banana works as an interstem between apple rootstock and pear. Does anybody have any experience with this? I am about to begin grafting a bunch of dwarf and super-dwarf apples and I'm thinking I may interstem a few of them and graft on a few pears next year to see what happens. But it would be good to see _some_ information, somewhere about this, if it exists.
n
Hi Nick,
It was fun to talk with you at the scion exchange. I have read this in other circumstances, and I have grafted Winter Banana onto the native malus fusca, Oregon Swamp Crabapple. It took and I know people mention Winter banana as the most frequently mentioned interstem so it makes sense to me. I am intrigued by the concept of using it as an interstem on quince to put apple or pear on it, which might work.
In short, I think if Lon says it, it's right. I've only met him briefly but his posts make me think of him as an unusually astute plantsman.
John S
PDX OR
I have Winter banana growing and producing on my sister's European pear of unknown variety.
I also have Fertility pear grafted to my apple tree at home. It is serving as an interstem for Golden Russet Bosc and Hosui. I think on that same tree I have Thornley pear grafted with Winter Banana as an interstem. I also have Seckel on that tree but don't recall if the interstem is Fertility pear or Winter Banana apple.
But both Winter Banana and Fertility seem very liberal with respect to inter species intimacy.
I’d bark grafted Bartlett pear scions on a well established Winter Banana apple and they all ‘took’ … though a year later I took the ancient and massive W.B. apple down for more garden space… Though it never had an opportunity to produce, from all I’ve heard, it would have 
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[quote="lonrom":2lqlzzav]
Winter Banana was used as an interstem at OSU to produce dwarf Asian pears on M 26 rootstock. They were as small as six feet tall and still had good, normal fruit. You could use WB on Malus fusca and graft either apple or pear on it.
As to how soon a cultivar grafted to M. fusca would bear, it would depend on the scion variety.[/quote:2lqlzzav]The goto person in literature for mini-pears on apple stock is Dr. Melvin Westwood.
I thought Joseph P. would have something to say around this topic, so dropped him a line. Here's his reply:
" The most widely used dwarfing rootstock for pear is quince, and an interstock can be used for incompatible cultivars (as you probably already know). There are a number of other dwarfing rootstocks in trials. One from Germany called ‘Pyrodwarf’ has not panned out. Reports from Germany looked promising, but trials in Oregon and Washington with the main commercial varieties gave lower production and smaller fruit than other rootstocks. The hot rootstock at the moment is OHxF87. It is not very dwarfing, but production trials consistently show high production and larger fruit than other rootstocks. A sibling of Pyrodwarf, that is being marketed as Pyro2 or Pyrodwarf 2 is looking more promising than the original Pyrodwarf. There are ongoing pear rootstock research trials in England, France, Italy and elsewhere. Some of the rootstock clones from those projects are being introduced into the US. There are hundreds of other potential dwarfing rootstocks in other genera such as apple, hawthorn, mountain ash, serviceberry, etc. but these are likely to be more interesting to small and backyard growers. Lots of experimental possibilities for amateur fruit growers! Mel Westwood explored the Winter Banana interstock possibilities about 20 years ago. It doesn’t have routine applications, but may be interesting to investigate further. There are also pear cultivars that are potentially graft compatible with apple, such as ‘Fertility’. I haven’t tried it."
My sense is that it was research by Tim Smith at WSU that was largely responsible for moving OHxF87 to the forefront of commercial rootstock choices in the PNW in very recent years. He was kind enough to forward me the details of his ongoing research updated to include 2009's findings:
http://www.seedambassadors.org/avalon/p ... report.htm
Pressing on, I'm pondering propagating pear rootstock. A good buddy tells me he has been challenged in his efforts to layer OHxF97 and 333 where he has had, contrariwise, a good deal of luck layering all kinds of apple rootstocks. I'm wondering what's going on. The apple rootstocks I've picked up in recent years are all elegantly straight-stemmed, while all the pear rootstocks appear to have been bud-grafted (what else explains the stem taking a sudden right/left-hand turn with clear evidence of the stem pruned away above the crook?) Why would bud-grafting a rootstock make sense? What's going on here? Am I missing something very simple?
n
I did a few scions of Fertility to seedling apples as an experiment several years ago.
They looked very good the first year. However, by end of second grow season it was obvious that Fertility had far overgrown the graft union. Doesn't seem promising for long term solutions at all.
If one was to bury the graft union, I bet the Fertility would self-root and you'd end up with a full sized pear.
I have yet to try apple stock -- Winter Banana -- pear scion combo's, but that would seem the most likely for success on seedling apples, if Dr. Westwoods info is extrapolated.
Isn't OneGreenWorld putting pear or Shipova on aronia stocks for dwarfing? I wonder how long those last. Would be fun to have a row of pears no larger than blueberry bushes!
all the pear rootstocks appear to have been bud-grafted (what else explains the stem taking a sudden right/left-hand turn with clear evidence of the stem pruned away above the crook?)
I don't think those were bud grafted, even though you are seeing structural similarities. The mother plant was likely stooled, the wild-ass shoots coming out at right angles to momma stump, then turning up eventually. When they cut them off the mother, they are going to have the funny curvature to them. Could be that the good roots form best on these critters in the "J" region.
Maybe that apples root easier (accounting for your friends own-rooting success), explaining the more straight stems you are seeing in clonal rootstocks. Antonovka is usually grown from seed and those will be straight as well, but will not have a squared bottom cut, as if severed from a momma stump.
I have grafted shipova to aronia. It is doing well. It is a large bush/small tree, like a quince= 8-9 feet tall. Perfect for me. Flowered last year, I think it will fruit this year. Shipova takes SO LONG to fruit, I think this is a better way.
John S
PDX OR
PS Plumfan: What is the number of that mountain ash you liked? I'll order it next year.
THanks
John, it would be interesting to use your aronia/shipova as a size controller for any pear. Shipova would be the interstem.
Maybe I will try multigrafting all sorts of pears to my experimental aronia bush. Check for compatibility. Maybe Shipova is not needed for an interstem.
The Mt Ash is CSOR 76.
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