Contents
Most gardeners grow fruit trees from seedlings. This method of planting gives confidence that after the allotted time they will produce a crop according to varietal characteristics. But there are enthusiasts who want to grow a tree from a seed – to see how it germinates and develops, to try to get a specimen that has retained the characteristics of the mother plant. Is it possible to grow a pear from a seed and how to do it correctly will be described later.
Is it possible to grow a pear from a seed
Like many garden trees, the pear tree can be grown and propagated from seed. From a planted seed, you can grow a wild game with tasteless fruits or a tree that is in no way inferior to the mother plant, or even surpasses it in varietal qualities. True, the probability of such an outcome is one chance in a thousand. On various forums, you can find a lot of reviews about the results of growing pears from a seed, gardeners note with satisfaction that the fruits are obtained, although smaller, but of good taste. The factor of chance is very strong here: having planted a seed, you don’t know what will be grown from it. If the result does not live up to expectations, a bud or cutting can be grafted onto a young pear from a tree that has already shown itself in terms of fruiting and yield.
Most often, seedlings are grown from pear seeds, which will later be used as a stock. They are strong, hardy and immune to many diseases. Without waiting for the fruits, they are grafted, turning the wild into a cultivated plant. So gardeners strive to grow a seedling of the desired variety on a stock that has undergone natural selection and hardening. There is also a practice of growing dwarf pears and bonsai from seed for home interior decoration, then getting a crop is not the goal.
How to grow a pear from a seed at home
In order to grow a healthy and strong pear seedling from a seed, you need to follow the sequence of actions during planting and provide the seedling with proper care.
Seed preparation
Having set out to grow a pear from a seed, you should be patient. The process begins with the selection of seed and its pre-planting treatment. The final result largely depends on the quality and proper preparation of seeds. It is preferable to select pear seeds of zoned varieties adapted to the local climate, then the chances of growing a healthy strong seedling increase many times over.
Seed selection
To grow a pear, seeds are harvested at the end of autumn. They are extracted by hand from mature fruits grown on the periphery of the crown of healthy high-yielding trees. Seeds should be full-bodied, dense, with a shiny smooth skin. First, they are immersed in cool salt water (30 g per 1 liter), and those that emerge are discarded. Then they are washed in hot water, they are completely freed from fruit pulp and juice, which can serve as a favorable environment for the development of pathogenic microflora when laying for stratification. In conclusion, pear seeds are dried at room conditions.
Preparation for stratification
Stratification – keeping seeds in conditions of low positive or low negative temperatures in order to overcome the state of dormancy. In order to grow a pear from seeds, this stage is necessary; without stratification, they will not germinate. Before starting the procedure, pear seeds should be kept for 4-5 hours in a solution of potassium permanganate and 1 day in the growth stimulator “Epine”, “Zircon”.
Stratification
Stratification of pear seeds, allowing you to grow a healthy tree, lasts 3 months. Seeds are processed in one of four ways:
- Mixed with wet sand, peat, sawdust and transferred to a room with a temperature of + 3-5 ˚С. As it dries, the substrate is moistened.
- Placed in a linen bag, kept wet for 2-3 days, removed, packaged in plastic bags and stored in a refrigerator. Once a week, pear seeds should be mixed and moistened when dried.
- They are covered with earth, put in a plastic box or bag and buried in the garden at a depth of 10-15 cm. The surface of the soil is covered with sawdust, spruce branches or special material.
- Podzimny sowing is carried out to a depth of 4 cm, followed by shelter. Pear seeds, from which it is planned to grow a tree, are buried directly in the ground or placed in peat pots, which are dug flush with it. Sowing time – the onset of the first frost. Grooves in the ground are made in advance, while it has not yet seized with a crust, covered with a dry mixture of sand, humus and ash, prepared in separate containers. Mulch cover is a must. This is how the natural stratification of seeds occurs.
Growing pears in containers speeds up their development and the onset of the fruiting period.
During stratification in the soil, pear seeds must be protected from rodent damage. To do this, they need to be covered with a fine mesh net. If part of the seeds germinated too early, the entire batch is transferred to a room with a temperature of 0-1 ˚С. This will delay their further development, while the rest will ripen.
Selection and preparation of landing tanks
By spring, stratified pear seeds will hatch, then they need to be grown in greenhouse conditions. As a container, use special containers or cups for yogurt, sour cream, ice cream. Clay flower pots are also suitable – they must be soaked in water for a day before use. The container for growing pears from seeds must be washed with a disinfectant solution of potassium permanganate before sowing, holes should be made for the outflow of moisture and drainage from pebbles or perlite should be placed on the bottom. When using peat pots, no preparation is required.
Soil Preparation
The soil for germinating pear seeds should be nutritious. You can purchase soil specifically designed for this purpose, but ordinary garden soil enriched with fertilizers will also work. For 10 kg, add 200 g of ash, 30 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium sulfate and mix. It is recommended to decontaminate the soil mixture – put it on a baking sheet with a layer of 1,5-2 cm and hold for 1 hour in an oven preheated to 125 ˚С. Then it is poured over the drainage, filling the container by ¾.
Rules of landing
To grow high-quality seedlings, the strongest of the germinated seeds are selected for sowing. They must be laid carefully so as not to break the sprouts, deepened by 1-1,5 cm. Deeper embedding will lead to the formation of a non-viable plant that will die for 2-3 years. A distance of 5-7 cm is observed between the seeds. Holes are made in pots for 4-5 seeds, grooves are made in large containers and sown sparsely. The soil is moistened with a spray bottle, the container is covered with glass or film and placed in a bright place – on a windowsill or an insulated balcony on the sunny side. Crops should be aired daily and watered as needed. It is impossible to allow the appearance of a crust on the surface of the soil – the sprouts will not be able to break through it.
Sprout care
In a month, cotyledons will appear above the surface of the earth, and then real leaves. When their number reaches 4, the seedlings can be transplanted into separate larger pots. Carefully, so as not to damage the fragile roots, the seedlings are removed with a clod of earth and placed in pre-prepared pits.
Optimal temperature and humidity
Seedlings should be grown at a temperature of 18-20 ˚C and a relative humidity of at least 60%. Every day you need to ventilate the room several times a day for 5-10 minutes to harden the pear. Do not allow direct sunlight on the young shoots and the movement of drafts in the room.
Watering and top dressing
Watering pear seedlings should be quite frequent – in dry sunny weather every day, in cloudy, rainy weather – every other day. Crops need to be fed three times with a solution of ammonium nitrate, mullein or bird droppings in a ratio of 1:10. The first time – at the beginning of growth, the second – after the first shoots, the third – a month later.
Picks
When thickening, seedlings need to be thinned out twice – when the first true leaves are formed and after another 2 weeks. During this procedure, weak and twisted sprouts are removed, strong ones are transplanted into vacant places. Picking is carried out after watering or rain. A third of the root is removed from the sprouts, dipped in a clay mash and planted at an interval of 7 cm.
Preparation for disembarkation
Young pears need to be prepared for outdoor cultivation. A week before landing, the containers are taken out into the open air for half an hour. For easier extraction of seedlings from the container, the earth is soaked in it.
Transplantation in open ground
Well-lit and wind-sheltered areas are suitable for planting young pears. The soil should be loose, water and breathable. Seedlings are deepened by 3-4 cm, watered with warm water, mulched with sawdust. Watering is carried out as the soil dries. The distance between plants is 8 cm, row spacing is 10 cm. After planting, young pears need regular watering, loosening, weeding and top dressing. For the first 2 months, the tree intensively forms roots, so it slowly grows. Plant care prior to grafting aims to ensure strong growth and the formation of an active, healthy cambium and bark. A strong rootstock allows you to grow a healthy strong tree with due attention.
Tips from experienced gardeners
There are many opinions on how to grow a pear from seed – they concern every stage, from stratification to placement in a permanent place in the garden. Some gardeners recommend storing seeds until spring in a moist substrate, others in dry sand. Many prefer to sow seeds directly into the ground in the fall, believing that nature will take care of selecting the strongest and most hardened specimens. In order to grow a pear in greenhouse conditions in winter, some recommend taking it to a permanent place or to a “school” in the spring, others in September, when the seedling gets stronger, and others in a year, which speeds up the onset of fruiting. All of these opinions are based on their own experience and the novice gardener will have to choose a planting method that will allow you to grow a pear tree from a seed.
Conclusion
Growing a pear from a seed is a long and laborious task with an unpredictable result. Experienced gardeners resort to this method to obtain strong frost-resistant rootstocks. Enthusiasts and experimenters strive to grow a dream tree from a pear seed that will decorate a garden or home interior. To achieve a good result, you need to carefully care for a young tree – shelter from frost and rodents, protect from parasites, feed, loosen and weed the ground. Only by performing the necessary measures, it is possible to grow a full-fledged healthy tree from a pear seed.
