An orchard of European Pear trees got killed by blight (I am assuming the blight they are referring to is fire blight?), and it crossed the road and killed my relative's pear tree. They want to replant another pear but want to pick something blight resistant. Is there a blight resistant rootstock for european pear? For approximately Yakima WA area, say zone 6a to be safe, possible -10*f in winter and of course triple digit dry summers.
It looks like quince is commonly used as rootstock for pear? And also, that they can be put on hawthorn (Crataegus)? There is a native WA hawthorn, would it work for pear rootstock and be blight resistant? what about amelancher? or sorbus (mountain ash)?
Someone is thinking about using bradford/callery pear as a blight resistant rootstock, but I hear they are considered invasive? I don't know if they're already feral in WA or OR? iIs there such a thing as a STERILE bradford/callery pear rootstock so they don't start spreading even if they put up sprouts they won't go to seed? They heard that they are blight resistant so are willing to use it as a rootstock to have a pear tree again, and carefully keep any sprouts from the rootstock trimmed.
I read that some trees use 3 grafts, the rootstock, the interstem, and the top. That's all doable, just which ones to use? We can do the work ourselves if necessary, but if there is somewhere that sells the right combo pre-grafted and already healed and that took and is growing, that would save time plus uncertainty in case our grafts failed.
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