From: songbird@anthive.com   
      
   hubops@ccanoemail.ca wrote:   
   > My neighbour decided to cut down a lovely large healthy   
   >  old pear tree in their front yard  -  ~  2 years ago.   
   > Walking by yesterday I noticed many dozens of  -   
   > what looked like  -   little pear trees emerging in the area   
   > around the stump  up to  ~  30 feet away from the stump.   
   > I assume these are sprouting from the roots.   
   > Is it possible to dig these out and start them rooting in pots ?   
   > If so  -  advice is most welcome.   
   > Would a tree that old  < guessing 60 - 70 years ? >   
   > have been grafted at the roots  like many modern fruit trees ?   
   >  ie:  would the root sprouts be a different species ?   
   >    John T.   
      
     grafting is fairly old technology.   
      
     i'd say there is a good chance it was grafted to   
   begin with.   
      
     if you have the space and time to take some of   
   those bits and to get them moved and growing eventually   
   you would be able to find out for sure (if the fruit   
   from the bits you take is different than the fruits they   
   normally harvested from that tree) if it was a grafted   
   tree.   
      
     IMO, if you want a pear tree for yourself you could   
   do better by just going and buying some (closer to the   
   fall for your area as right now is a rotten time to   
   transplant a fruit tree in the northern hemisphere).   
      
     do some research on types first as some will be   
   more suited and what you want than others.  also it   
   is often a good idea to have several types that will   
   flower about the same time so they can cross-pollinate   
   each other (gives a better crop).   
      
      
     songbird   
      
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