Dealing with badly grafted chanticleer pear

11 years ago

I bought 5 Chanticleer Pear trees a couple years ago for about $20 each which I thought was a great deal. I planted them in a row in my back yard and they are going well. Right now they are in bloom and the leaves have all popped. I can see that the branches have been growing up top but there are also branches growing below the graft.

Since buying these trees I have educated myself about grafts and probably wouldn't buy them if I was in the same situation today. Despite this I am wondering what I can do to stop or limit this growth from the base of the tree. As it is now I rub off the growth every week or two and prune off the bigger stuff.

I wonder if I could wrap the base or put tar or something on it to stop this growth. What would you all suggest I do?

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Comments (7)

Konrad___far_north
11 years ago
The problem looks like it wasn't planted deep enough and wants to make root sprouts, I see exposing roots.
sanctified
Original Author
11 years ago
I was concerned with planting them too deep. I planted them at the soil level of the bucket they were in. The roots were exposed while in the buckets. Some are worse than others but this pictures shows the average.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
five pears????? .. crikey ....

listen .. you educated yourself.. and now admit you would not buy them again ...

so why are you thinking of coping with this one in particular???

what??? .. having four would leave a hole in your life...

GET RID OF IT ....

and plant something else ... NOT in the pear family ....

focus.. lol ..

good luck

ken

ps: and dont feel guilty about it ... just promise mother earth you will replace it with something better.. net loss to her.. net zero ....
sanctified
Original Author
11 years ago
Oh boy. I said that I wouldn't have bought the same trees today meaning I would have found some that had better grafts. These trees do fit in what I want with my yard so I am happy with that, just not sure how to deal with the leafing from the bottom of the trunk.

You would be proud of me Ken, I also planted a couple of small Bur Oaks and a Northern Red Oak last fall.
lucky_p
11 years ago
Agree with Konrad.
This one looks like it was planted about 4-5 inches too high.
I don't worry much about depth of planting so much with pomefruits like pear & apple - most are on clonally-propagated rootstock, and really have no 'root flare' comparable to oaks, maples, etc.
Granted, these 'ornamental' pears are probably grafted/budded onto callery pear seedlings, but the issue is not the graft - that little 'dogleg' in the trunk will not even be visible another couple of years down the road - but the fact that you've got all that root mass exposed above grade.
sanctified
Original Author
11 years ago
Would any suggest I dig up the trees (this fall after they are dormant) and plant them 4-5" lower? Ken thinks I ought to replant them in the dumpster but thats cool.

I was thinking about the root flare when I planted them this high. I was trying to figure out where it was and ended up just planting them at the soil level from the pots they were in.

One other thing. If I had planted them deeper would all of these leaves and buds that are growing now be root shoots? I see lots of neglected street trees with "branches" growing out of the dirt and wonder if they were planted lower if I would be dealing with the same issues.
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
11 years ago
My bet is 90% as bad sucker growth if planted perfectly. It just seems to be the nature of the beast.

What you should do? I dunno. Packing dirt around them would be a temptation. Many trees live like this a long time in nature near streams and lakes.

Replant?

Probably not. I have a Bradford type from the previous owners. If several of my larger trees had not required removal it would be gone now. Guess I am shell/chainsaw shocked lol. I just can't kill another!

Now that said, my "right" to complain when my neighbor plants bamboo or zoysia near my fescue has been limited by my own decision to keep this invasive stinky mess until the snow or wind removes its blight from my zip code.

damn Post Tree Removal Disorder lol.

Dealing with badly grafted chanticleer pear

Comments (7)

Konrad___far_north

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Dealing with badly grafted chanticleer pear

Comments (7)

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