Pyrus betulifolia Full Size Pear Rootstock

Pre-Order for Spring Planting - Rootstock comes from the US anytime between late March to mid-May. Usually ready to ship in mid-April.

Ask to be put on our waitlist!

Grown by: Willamette Nurseries

Graft Compatibility:

Compatible with European pears and Asian pears

Why We Grow It: Pyrus betulifolia is a vigorous and adaptable pear rootstock, compatible with both European and Asian pears. It is also a very thorny variety, making it useful for deterring critter damage on the rootstock. 

Rootstock is the bottom part of a grafted tree which has the roots. The main purpose of rootstock is to control the height of the adult tree and it is broadly categorized as dwarf, semi-dwarf, and full-size/standard. Rootstock can also impart other benefits such as changes to tree vigour (relating to how soon it bears fruit), cold hardiness, and disease resistance.

Rootstock will grow into a tree on its own if left ungrafted, but the fruit it produces is often undesirable for human consumption.

Click HERE to learn more about grafting!

Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4

Soil Preference: Sandy loam, loam, clay loam. Prefers average to moist conditions with well-drained soils, avoid planting anywhere that floods for more than two weeks in the spring.

General Growth Habit: Full-size, produces Asian pears 15-20ft tall and European pears over 30ft, vigorous, highly adaptable to different soils, very thorny. Resistant to fireblight and pear decline.

Pyrus betulifolia (aka birchleaf pear) is native to parts of China and Tibet. This thorny cousin of the pear trees we grow is commonly used as rootstock for Asian pears.

Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of plants across Canada. We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.

Pick-up: We also have thousands of plants picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc.

When Will My Order Be Ready?

Dormant Rootstock: We receive the majority of our dormant rootstock from a supplier in the US and are at the mercy of whenever they choose to ship their rootstock to us. It generally arrives anywhere between late March and mid-May, but most often is delivered in April. We will prepare your rootstock order as soon as we have received this shipment and taken inventory.

Non-Dormant Rootstock: If you are getting non-dormant rootstock (see description) then it will generally be ready around mid to late May. If you have other bareroot plants and want them shipped, we may ship them separately ahead of time.

Each piece of rootstock is generally 1-1.5ft tall including the roots and is ideally 3/16-1/4" thick.

There may be some variation in size, thickness, and straightness between varieties/species.

$8.75

Rootstock Option: Dormant Bareroot

Out of stock

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