Maybe because I’m only familiar with the wild pears around here or those in the grocery store. I’ve heard they might not be the best! 
1 Like
I actually like most all pears but Kieffers has been reliable. It is preferable to me over an overly soft buttery type pear. Generally I like the softer type pears while they are still a little on the crisp side.
1 Like
Beautiful trees! Crossing my fingers for you.
1 Like
[quote=“clarkinks, post:1, topic:9747”]
ower very soon. The individual flower buds are formed. With any luck the cold will miss us and these will wind up being fruit. The weatherman is predicting 26 Saturday but I sprayed copper and dormant oil so I think I bought myself 2 degrees. Its also been extremely windy which on my hilltop orchard may give me the edge I need. I will post an update next week. Fruit growing is only for risk takers. Hope your blossoms are still ok. I’m not counting on the stone fruit crop but it’s a great bonus when I get cherries, peaches, and plums. Wish I could say I get apricots sometimes but I’m not a liar and out of the 5 apricot trees I have ive got half a dozen fruits in years. So far my cherries are barely swelling a
[/quote]I think most European pears sold in our grocery stores are picked too early, and even when they seem perfectly ripe they are not that great.
Same thing with Asian pears sold here, yet most of the not so great Asian pears sold in our area are much better than the not so great European pears.
3 Likes
I am not always successful at ripening store bought pears, maybe because they were picked too green. I have a green d’anjuo that has been on the counter for three weeks and it is not getting soft like a ripe pear should. It just starts to get wrinkled and rubbery
1 Like
Buying so many pears around here that can not ripen decently is one of my main drives to grow them myself. It gets very disappointing.
2 Likes
Wasn’t it like 90F yesterday? I think i saw some 90fs into Nebraska… crazy stuff.
1 Like
Yes 85+ yesterday and very warm today again. The blooms are popping open like crazy. Very very warm here and I have not started grafting yet.
1 Like
My 5 in 1 Asian Pear is almost done blooming.
And it is setting some fruit.
It’s funny how the bees are paying equal attention to the fragrant citrus blooms as well as the stinky pear ones. My wife commented on how nice the citrus smelled inside the house. I made her smell the citrus outside (She never ventures to the backyard for the fear that I’ll start blabbering about bees and pollination and so on). Then I made her smell the pear blossoms! 
8 Likes
When do you think you are going to put your first pear graft on clark? My old tree is awake with small leaves on sprouts that I left to graft to but my ohxf 87 are still fast asleep, in fact I cut some scion off of them last week and sent it out.
1 Like
Nice to see your pear flowers made it Clark. How is it that there are not bees in the photos, are you seeing pollinators?
1 Like
They look healthy. I predict that you will have your best harvest this year or at least I hope you do. Can’t wait to see the pictures of the limbs hanging heavy with large fruit.
1 Like
Bleedingdirt,
Those are great looking trees! Congratulations!
Derby,
I’m going to graft very soon. Im waiting for 70’s daytime temps and 50’s evening temp. I may not get that perfect weather.
Steve,
Those bees were working Willows and peaches and ignoring my pears. Thankfully flys, moths etc will work pear blooms.
Bill,
Some of my pears are light on their crop but overall your right probably as good a crop as ever. I never know why some trees don’t produce every year but there are times they just don’t fruit much.
1 Like
Those look great Katy I’m always glad to see those fruitlets like that.
Thanks…just started growing fruit last year so all is new and exciting so far. My Kieffer looks great and is covered in fruit (will I need to thin?) but my Orient is just now waking up and looks to be going straight to leaf. It has been a bit worrisome. And I rescued a Moonglow off the pavement at Walmart last night after storms left it on the bottom of the heap.
katy
2 Likes
Normally you pick the fruit off the first year but I would leave some on your kieffer pears on if it was me. Kieffers are good strong trees. I would water it a little extra since it has fruit on during the really dry times.
It was in the ground last year and had 2-3 fruit that dropped off… it’s about a 9 foot tree
1 Like