So let’s talk about Midwest pears , I thought that three ohxf 87 rootstock would do for my needs but I think I’m wrong, maybe I need some ohxf 333 or quince. What are ur thoughts Clark?
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That sounds great on the apricot I would love to try it one of these days. I’ve had great luck here with several later blooming pears so long term if you have that problem every year you might need to top work that HD. My HD are to young to bloom so time will tell and I’ll let you know. I suspect it’s an early blooming pear every year because it’s very early ripening I’m told.
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They both produce fruit very quickly. 333 I planted a year ago and they were 2 year old trees I purchased and they are already producing a small number of flowers. Our soil does not allow them to get overly large. I suspect they will remain 7 feet or so. 111 apple rootstock is about 12-15’ here due to the clay loam soil. Quince would be fine also if a completely fireblight resistant pear is grafted to it such as pineapple, hood, leconte etc… I like resistant rootstock because some varieties I grow such as seckle really are not fireblight resistant in my opinion. As your aware I grow quince on pear ( kieffer specifically). That’s not to say I don’t use bartlett rootstock sometimes and it is FB susceptible but I graft things like Potomac to that type of rootstock. Right rootstock for the right scion if you know what I mean. I would not graft forelle or abate fetel to a quince even with a FB resistant interstem. I don’t grow quince myself but many forum members do. I can tell you callery are my favorite euro rootstocks overall but I’m a patient man.
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Derby,
You might be wondering why I don’t use quince aside from fireblight and that’s because quince does not do well in my alkaline soil. I realized I didn’t mention it. You might want to look at this link regarding what your wanting to do Quince as Pear Rootstock - Fruit & Nut Research & Information Center. I grow all types of rootstocks but not quince. In the right place they are one of the best.
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It is not the best tasting pear to many people but because of it’s disease resistance, being a good pollinator, and reliable fruiting it is high on my list of good pears. I have several more pears that are rated high that haven’t fruited yet so these might push ahead of Kieffer going forward. Bill
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Many long gone old houses in my area still has the old Kieffers going strong. Most years they will be loaded with fruit even in their neglected environment.
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If it wasn’t for fruit quality I wouldn’t grow anything else.
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I grew up with a hard gritty pear like a kieffer and I actually like them better than a soft pear. Plus they are a lot better for canning and preserves. We would wrap and store them until they were “mellow” and then they eat even better.
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I agree completely with the fact they are great canning pears. When it comes to eating quality once you’ve tried some other pears opinions change. There are some great pears out there and thousands of pears we’ve never even tried. There is definitely another you might like as well or better.
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! 
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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.
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Beautiful trees! Crossing my fingers for you.
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[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.
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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
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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.
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Wasn’t it like 90F yesterday? I think i saw some 90fs into Nebraska… crazy stuff.
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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.
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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! 
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