wildlifeman,
I've not ordered scions from Corvallis, but have friends(also hobbyists) who've gotten pear scions from them, and I've requested pomegranate cuttings & walnut scions from the NCGR at Davis, and they never questioned my qualifications.
I've never heard of them refusing anyone's requests - though, I suppose if a particular variety were in short supply, university researchers would get first shot at what was available.
It's been a while, but I think I just submitted the plant materials request, and didn't hear anything back from them until they shipped out - I think they sent me an email to let me know they were in transit.

I have gotten quite a few pears from them in the past. The initial response you get will vary, I have gotten acks some years and not others. If they don't in fact pull through I have Grand Champion (from them) so drop me a line if you need some wood.

Scott

The fruit experiment station at Mt Vernon, WA also offers an annual distribution of scions, and I have seen the facility at Prosser also listed as a source for rare ones in particular. So unless this practice is peculiar to this region there must be quite a few stations around the country that could be tried.

bboy, that practice is indeed peculiar to your region. I have tried to get scions from other local stations and they don't even reply to my emails. The only exception I have found is we have a station on the eastern shore of Maryland where I have been able to get some persimmons.

The Mt. Vernon station does supposedly mail wood to requestors, but after three attempts from them I have received nothing in the mail and have now given up on asking them.

Scott

a late thanks gentlemen for your responses !

scott i will keep u in mind regarding your kind offer.

i will go ahead and fill out the on-line form and make my requests, the worst that can happen is nothing arrives in the mail.

with all the hoopla about disappearing fruit varieties one would think they would be happy to send scions to anyone wanting to grow them. with understandably research institutions coming first.

regards,
wildlifeman

wildlifeman,

I've had most of my orders filled from Corvallis.

If I remember right, the fellow who spoke at the All About Fruit Show said they don't mind filling requests for individuals when its something that isn't easily available.

They don't look favorably on an order for Bartlett pear and Golden Delicious apple - stuff you can get from Home Depot.

The stations that I see among the sources given by Seed Savers Exchange, Fruit, Berry and Nut Inventory - Third Edition (2001, Seed Savers Exchange, Decorah) are

Mount Vernon Research and Extension Unit, Washington State University, 16650 State Route 536, Mount Vernon, WA 98273. Web site: http://mtvernon.wsu.edu. Free price list. Retail only. Sells only scionwood. Research station whose main purpose in putting out a scionwood list is for home orchardists wanting non-patented varieties that may not be readily found commercially. Offered 73 total varieties in 2000, including 45 apples, 3 apricots, 6 cherries, 11 pears and 8 plums.

NRSP5/IR-2 Virus-Test Fruit Tree Collection, IAREC, WSU, 24106 N. Bunn Road, Prosser, WA 99350. Phone: 509-786-9370. E-mail: bhowell@tricity.wsu.edu. Web site: www.nrsp5.wsu.edu. NRSP5/IR2 stands for National Research Support Project 5/Inter-Regional Project 2. "NRSP5" was recently added to the name; some may know the organization as IR-2. Offers budwood and seeds only. All cultivars are virus-free. See Web site for present list of varieties. Offered 675 total varieties in 2000, including 25 apple rootstocks, 211 apples, 30 apricots, 63 cherries, 27 nectarines, 126 peaches, 77 pears, 15 pear roostocks, 72 plums, 4 stone fruit crosses, 21 stone rootstocks and 4 almonds.

Maybe the Mt. Vernon scion distribution program was discontinued and nobody had taken it off the web site when you tried to use it. I do remember there was a season to it, possibly the rest of the time nobody responds to queries. Might even be something that is handled by sonething like graduate students or interns.

It seems as with other federal facilities here a defensive posture was adopted after 9/11, with a fence being put up and a Keep Out sign being installed prior to my last attempt to view the ornamental crabapple trials (there was an alien-looking spray rig running around among them at the time, although the sign looked permanent and was definitely terse in wording, like an irritated private property owner might put up).

I sent an email using their form-mail last week and got a bounced message reply. Are you sure they even got your email/order? I have thought to try and call instead.

Here is a link that might be useful: Contact form that bounced