I like these little dessert pears, and they grow well in our climate. We eat these out of hand but not fast enough to keep from losing a few to spoilage every year.
Left rear is a Worden Seckel, right rear a Golden Spice, and a White Doyenne in the front. I hope to put a few up in light syrup next year.
Looks beautiful! Is golden spice part P. ussuriensis? Just wondering if it has that strong ussuriensis flavor?
http://www.canyonviewnursery.com/products.html
These are the folks who grafted and recommended Golden Spice to me when I bought it, but at the time they were using a OHxF rootstock (don’t know which one). Now they use p. ussuriensis. But I don’t know ussuriensis as a distinct flavor - where could I sample something that would show me?
I like this pear quite a bit but it isn’t what I would call gourmet. The skin is tough, the flesh can be gritty, and I wouldn’t call it melting. But it’s vigorous, generous, and tough, and the tree has been relatively straightforward to prune, so that helps. And I like the flavor and sweet/acid balance. Compared to the others it’s a fairly good keeper.
Thanks! Canyon View Nursery mentions Clayton Berg from Helena,MT on one of their pear descriptions. That brought back memories. I met Clayton many years ago. Not sure if I stopped by his place in Helena as I did make a trip out there in the late 80’s early 90’s calling on garden centers selling nursery stock.
I may be wrong but I believe Summercrisp pear has some P. Ussuriensis in the breeding? When I let my Summercrisp ripen too much they have a strong unique flavor that P. Ussuriensis has. That is why I asked if Golden Spice had that strong flavor as well when fully ripe.
