Callery Pear leaf tips turning black

[Beano]

Hi! I attempted to air layer an ornamental pear tree last year. The layer failed so I decided to separate it and plant as a cutting. I cut a large branch off the main layer and also planted it as a cutting, since the tree branch was a nuisance and needed cutting anyway.

Both cuttings now have had leaves for about 1 month. The original layer appears to be healthy though only has one shoot:


The extra branch has some tip blackening. This might be because I moved it to more sun too soon, but could it be something else? Perhaps it is the start of the cutting being unsuccessful? Too much water? They’re in 50% potting mix 50% perlite. Each new leaf that opens seems to have less black but still some is present:

[shibui]

Black edges is probably indicating dehydration of the leaves.
Just because it has leaves on a cutting does not mean there are roots. Large cuttings can produce quite a lot of leaves and some new shoots just by using up the energy stored in the tissues of the trunk. I find pears reasonably difficult to root as cuttings. Have you checked for roots yet? Check the drainage holes of the pot first to see if you can spot any roots. If not, some gentle excavation around the trunk should tell you if there are roots around the base of the cuttings.

If they have not produced roots there is not much you can do other than get them back into a more humid area and

[Beano]

Yeah I know. I am not really holding my breath for them to live but was a bit surprised at how many leaves it’s pushed. I figured that the one with possibly burnt leaves still had no roots. The other one was the original layer and had lots of callous so thought it would be more likely to root than the one with black tips. I haven’t checked, I’ve been trying to not mess with them and hope for the best.


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