I accidentally bought a pear tree grafted onto quince. What now?
Question
Now I already planted almost all trees except for one plum tree and two pear trees.
To be sure I asked again via e-mail because I felt something is wrong. And she replied that apple is rooted on MM106, Cherry is rooted on Colt and I guess those two are ok, right?
But pear is rooted on quince (!!!)... and plum is said to be St. Juliens A which I searched for and it should also be from plum tree, but I could not find it on the list here on the website, can you verify this rootstock to be ok b"H? I did not plant the pear trees yet... can I somehow save them (cutting off the rootstocks?) or do I have to throw them away? Thank you!
Answer
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Apple × MM106 – As you thought, this combination is permissible.
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Cherry × Colt – This graft should be planted by a non-Jew (Option 3 in our list of permissible and forbidden scion-rootstock combinations).
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Plum × St. Julien A – This combination is permissible.
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Pear × Quince – This is kilayim m’de’oraita (biblically forbidden grafting). Do not plant it!
However, since there is no prohibition of deriving benefit (hana’ah) from such grafts, it is permissible to sell or give away the tree. Try returning it to the nursery if possible.
If you intend to return the pear tree, you may water it temporarily to keep it alive until then, even though this means maintaining a forbidden graft. This is permissible because your purpose is to return it and receive a refund, relying on the Shulchan Aruch, which rules that it is allowed to water a grafted tree after the grafting has already been done.