Many more obscure pears are becoming more widely available in 2018. I suspect rootstocks such as ohxf333 and quince are responsible for much of the new interest in pears. It’s appealing to get a pear in 2-5 years rather than waiting on a tree to produce 7-15 years.
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I noticed quite a few nurseries have switched from the ohxf333 to the ohxf87. I asked one nursery why and they mentioned the 333 was just not hardy enough and they were having problems with it. At least that is what they told me.
Some pears that you grow are not meant for fresh eating. So what are they good for? I know I read about some that were very old pear varieties that had to be stewed for hours and hours to even be eatable or useful, such as being added to meats or dishes that required to be cooked for hours. Yet even then they did not mention actually eating them. Just curious as to what else these pears could or should be used for? Perhaps just their rootstocks for grafting?
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Yes some I grow because their wood makes a great inter stem, some like pound I’m grafting this year are a good cooking pear, I believe I may even have a gin pear for making perry. Eating pears fresh is what consumers in the grocery store believe we do with them because it’s all they know but if they ever tried a dried pear everything would change for them. Pears have a huge number of uses as do apples and other fruits. We are just tapping this fruit culture in this country.
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Have you made any crosses yet, Clark? If so, how are they growing for you?
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Yes I have but the trees are small.
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Anyone want to chime in on what a good zone 4 pear might be? I planted a Moonglow, because OGW said they were zone 4, but everywhere else lists it as zone 5 or even 6, only. I’d like to hedge my bets and plant a pear that’s a little more of a sure thing in my climate. I know pears grow here, in MN, because I had a previous neighbor who had two trees. They’ve since moved and the new owner chopped them, though, so I don’t know what kind they were.
I’m looking at Flemish Beauty and Highland, but can’t find much on if they’ll withstand fireblight. I have a quince tree planted in my small yard, which I’ve heard can harbor FB… so whatever else I get needs to be able to withstand it!
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Harrow sweet & harrow delight don’t overlap moon glow blooms but they are very nice for zone 4. You would have pears very quickly.Flemish Beauty and Highland are very well known pears. @marknmt grows some nice pears in a colder location such as dabney & white doyenne so he might have additional comments,
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Hi Clark,
I was planning on giving @k8tpayaso a Harrow Sweet as a partner for her Moonglow in Texas. I was under the impression it would overlap for her. What does she need as a pollinator? Any from this list acceptable for Texas and will pollinate?
@Auburn you’re growing I thought Moonglow and Harrow Sweet aren’t you?
Dax
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@Auburn: @coolmantoole. I need info from you southern gentlemen…
What pear is pollinator for your Moonglow?
Katy
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The problem is Texas has fireblight like you’ve not seen in your location. The only ones on your list you can grow there are Charles Harris, Warren, & moon glow. Some of the Asians might grow there also. @wildscaper knows a bunch about Texas pears and grew abate fetal there. I’m not sure that Tyson , paragon, and Potomac would grow there but those are very fireblight resistant high quality pears. Potomac is like Anjou and paragon & Tyson are comice crosses. Magness is very high quality but not as resistant to fireblight as her sibling warren.
@k8tpayaso
Marcus and Bill are going to remind you Ayers is a real gem in your area.
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In my area this year I got some overlap of bloom for Moonglow with Ayers, Korean Giant, and Harrow Sweet. There was a little overlap with Golden Boy. My off and on cold weather causes some fluctuation in bloom time. Moonglow bloomed a little later than Orient, Kieffer, and Hood.
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Kieffer style pears are to early for moon glow. @Auburn I would like to see you try Douglas sometime I think you might like them. Douglas is my earliest bloomer but it does not ripen the earliest.
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I also have Tenn that I think would overlap Moonglow but can’t verify yet.
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If anyone needs Leona scions next year remind me its reportedly very good in the south. It’s a hard pear to find.
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I’ve looked at two resources I have and neither list Charles Harris. I see you grafted it in 2017 but that’s all Google offers as of now.
I’m sure the folks here will help sort this out. For me it’s Charles Harris or Katie going with Harrow Sweet and eventually getting another to add as info. continues arriving.
Dax
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I started out with a deliberate attempt to match bloom times and I think it has mostly taken care of pollination issues. Cold weather is now my biggest problem during bloom time. I just grafted in as many FB resistant varieties that I could get and a few more that I was unsure of. As of now Harrow sweet and Korean Giant has handled our FB prone area well. Harrow Sweet is a wonderful tasting pear and I hope it continues to do well at my place.
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I’m thinking Katie may be okay with Harrow Sweet. I’d like to hear though from Marcus and anyone else though, first.
Dax
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I wonder if Asian pears: Shinseiki, Nijisseiki, or Kosui would grow well for her? I remember up above Marcus and Clark speaking of Korean Giant as good ones for Marcus’ area and for the deep south. Not sure though any of the three I listed were mentioned though.
Dax
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Just guessing but I think they would be FB prone.
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