Thoughts On A Tree Issue?

[Diggin It]

Bought about a dozen fruit trees in late '18. Mix of apple and pear varieties. All grew fine last Summer. All are leafing out fine so far this year, except one of the Pears. It started to come out OK, but then stopped. I'm not seeing any new growth on the upper branches, now about 8' tall. Looks like the nubs of leaves that had started are browning. If I nick a branch with my thumbnail, the pulp is nice and green. There IS new vigorous growth from the trunk about 12-18" above ground, but below all of the branches. Those new shoots are 3-4 inches long now.

At first I though it may have gotten frost nipped, but now I'm not so sure.

 

[Citydude]

I’m betting they got nipped. Give it some time to warm up.

 

[PandDLong]

The tree is likely grafted onto a different root which is hardier than the pear. Sometimes the root variety tries to take over and start to grow its own top and the grafted one gets starved. See if there is a spot on the trunk above those new branches that looks like where two “trunks” were joined. If so, that is probably the graft spot and it may be best to prune off those new branches so the root supports the pear tree.

Having said that - most grafts I have seen are closer to the ground than 12-18”but there are always exceptions.

Good luck

 

[jaxs]

The tree is likely grafted onto a different root which is hardier than the pear. Sometimes the root variety tries to take over and start to grow its own top and the grafted one gets starved. See if there is a spot on the trunk above those new branches that looks like where two “trunks” were joined. If so, that is probably the graft spot and it may be best to prune off those new branches so the root supports the pear tree.

Having said that - most grafts I have seen are closer to the ground than 12-18”but there are always exceptions.

Good luck

Heed ^this^ advice. I couldn't say it better.

 

[HillStreet]

Young trees such as you planted need to focus on the tree structure growing, not the buds. Fertilize with high nitrogen, or just a generic 10-10-10. Also, some fruit trees may just produce every other year.

 

[Diggin It]

The tree is likely grafted onto a different root which is hardier than the pear. Sometimes the root variety tries to take over and start to grow its own top and the grafted one gets starved. See if there is a spot on the trunk above those new branches that looks like where two “trunks” were joined. If so, that is probably the graft spot and it may be best to prune off those new branches so the root supports the pear tree.

Having said that - most grafts I have seen are closer to the ground than 12-18”but there are always exceptions.

Good luck

I was thinking this might be the issue as there is a 'knot' above the new growth. I'll try to get a picture today.

 

[Ford850]

It does sound like the suckers are coming below the graft, but with such a mild winter I doubt the upper scion froze out. If it did get nipped by frost, by clipping all the lower sucker growth it will force the secondary buds to soon emerge where the first ones were killed. I think it could also be blight, which is very common in pears. Google 'pear blight' or 'fire blight' for all the details. If it's blight, the tree will continue to die from the infected areas downward. I saved one of my pear trees from blight a couple years ago once I realized what was going on, but I had to cut the top off the trunk at 3' height, leaving only the stub trunk to regrow. It looked like a fence post until the first new growth appeared that first year, and this year it's getting back to normal and has blossoms.

 

[3Ts]

I have seen grafts that high up, but that's not usually where they are. It is not uncommon to have growth both above and below the graft. You do not want the below the graft growth as it will stunt the above graft growth. And definitely check for fire blight.

 

[Diggin It]

Best I can do for pictures. I'm guessing the graft is one of the two knots at the arrows, but I'm not sure.



.

 

[Ford850]

I don't think those are graft points. They look like earlier pruning areas that regrew and were pruned again, causing some scarring (which will go away as the tree ages).