I read that it’s very susceptible to CAR. Is that the case for you?
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So true.
Lots of the “very resistant” trees will loose shoots, get blossom blight, or have limbs die back to the trunk, but the tree will go on. It’s not really that the tree doesn’t get fireblight - it just lives through it.
Also, my Asian pear trees seem WAY more susceptible to fireblight than any of the apples. I don’t have as many euro pears so can’t really compare them.
One thing that has seemed to keep my younger grafts/trees from getting it is pulling the blossoms off as soon as they open - obviously this is only on the youngest trees that I don’t want to produce fruit.
Lol. Probably because it grows so slowly…
@SpringForthFarmNC If you want a late fall apple, I am going to suggest what is probably an unpopular pick: enterprise. It’s more disease resistant (though nothing is really completely disease resistant) and I think the tough skin helps with bugs. I actually really like the taste of it and the skin doesn’t bother me. It’s also a vigorous grower. Of course it is not as delicious as goldrush but it’s got it’s own charm.
You might consider Sundance, which came out of the same program that made Gold Rush (GR my favorite apple tree). I am trialing Sundance now in conditions quite distinct from your own. Sundance was bred to resist CAR and the other three typical threats.
Also, if Ashmead’s gives you grief, you might try Claygate, which is a winner in my back yard. It also is triploid, but in dry heat has made unforgettable fruit. I cannot predict how it might do in NC.
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I don’t have as many euro pears so can’t really compare them.
I have a Bartlet that is probably 40 plus years old. It has been getting hammered by blight the last couple years but only the extremities see meaningful impact, and it still bears like a ton of pears. The blight comes later in the season.
ooo I’m excited. I just ordered sundance =) Didn’t know it was out of the same people as goldrush. I just liked the description.
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Thanks you for everyone’s advice. Do you have experience woth Ayers pear in the SE? I inadvertently left that off my pear list.
Jonathan
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Clark has Ayers as one of his best fireblight resistant varieties. I have Ayers grafted 3 years ago which was hit hard by fireblight last year. It lost 8 feet of growth from the top of the tree. There are two possibilities. Either the scion I got as Ayers was misidentified or the strain of fireblight here is different from Clark’s. The tree set a few fruit last year so I can state that the fruit were consistent with pictures of Ayers. They did not mature as that branch was killed by fireblight.
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Years ago I lost a big branch of ayers. I cut it off and it never happened again.
Yeah. 39th parallel has it and it is definitely on my list.
Have had no problem with CAR with it at all.
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Dr.Stayman was from PA and died here in Kansas Dr Joseph Stayman (1817-1903) - Find a Grave Memorial
Now keeping mind he came to Kansas with 3 thousand trees. @Fusion_power thinks I’m excessive about pears what would he have thought when meeting this guy? I never grew 3 thousand pears at once.
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I’m up to about 1000 trees without half trying. I have pecan (about 200), apple, pear (120 now!), walnut (over 400), persimmon, mulberry, and more.
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Regarding Asian pears….I’ve had Hosui in Zone 7 upper Chesapeake region for 10 years now. It gets some fire blight strikes every year but keeps on rolling. I’m not even all that diligent about quickly removing the strikes anymore. I prune it fairly aggressively first week of March every year.
I’ve been fruiting Ayers for a number of years in my FB infested area. It definitely gets fireblight in my yard if I don’t spray antibiotic. But I’ve had success in pruning it out and not having the FB reappear at the cut. I wish the same could be said for most of my apples. So maybe the FB does not advance very far beyond visible symptoms in this tree? It is one of my very best pears. So sweet. I recommend it but you’ll probably need to spray strep or really stay on top of pruning out strikes
@MichaelTheBeloved, I hear you about Warren but other threads indicate it to be very slow to bear. Has that been your experience?
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Thank you all for your advise. After consultation with David at Century Farm Orchard I am getting, Goldrush, Hunge, Ashmeads Kernel, Blacktwig Mammoth, Grimes Golden, & Keener Seedling.
I was going to get Roxbury instead of Grimes.but for pollination he said I needed to make the switch and also for him (not far from me), Grimes has done okay with fireblight. It is really great to have such a good resource be local!
Haven’t decided on pears yet. I’m leaning towards Warren, Ayers, and Harrow Sweet. Does anyone see any pollination issues with that trio, perhaps with bloom time? Would anyone make any substitution I should consider?
Thank you for your generosity
Jonathan
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I grafted Warren on a 6 inch diameter rootstock in 2020. It bore 8 pears in 2024. It did not have any fruit last year, but appears to have set quite a few fruit this year. My tree is now nearly 20 feet tall and very well spread. One caution about Warren, it is a terminal bearer. This means it tends to bear on the tip ends of branches. Prune it to force lots of branching which means more tip stubs to make fruit.
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I grow Liberty, Galarina, and Sundance. The trees were purchased from Cummins Nursery. The Geneva rootstocks have done very well in the southeast (G214 and G210 are excellent), and these particular cultivars are very disease resistant. If you want ease of care and great flavor, these apple cultivars are highly recommended.
I recommend buying a 100 gallon cloth pot from Vivosun. Put high grade potting mix like Happy Frog. Plant the trees in the pots and leave them in the pots for 1-2 years to allow the roots to develop before planting them in the ground. Use mini pine bark or cedar chips as mulch. Water 2 times weekly in the summer and less in the cooler seasons. This will ensure high success.
Galarina
Sundance
Liberty
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I know nothing about pears as I have yet to put any serious research into them, however I just did quite a good bit on apples. For me I wanted max resist to scab on as many as possible. I do have some that will still need spraying too. I also wanted good keepers but maybe that isn’t a factor for you as you note you plan to dry them anyway.
Here’s some I was looking at that are pretty broadly disease resistant and also had long shelf life
Crimson Crisp
Candy Crisp
Cosmic Crisp
Liberty (japanese beatles I’ve read can be an issue though)
Enterprise
Dayton
Nova Spy
Arkansas Black
Winecrisp
Christmas Pippin
and Goldrush is one I seem to find conflicting info on, Arkansas Black too, some seem to say its pretty scab resist and others say it’s not so much, but potentially susceptible to rust.
Freedom is supposed to be really disease resist too
Pristine, Macfree, Redfree decent.
I ran a huge list through grok, I think it was maple valley’s whole listing, not sure how actually accurate it is but I’d send ya the text file if you want to message me on various varieties shelf life, and disease resistances.
You must have a nice tractor or something to move 100 gallon pots around holy heck. I had a hard time moving 30 gallon laundry tubs even when I was at full strength. That’s a cool idea though, I am not as physically able as I once was but I’d like to try to grow a few apples on the back patio in big pots here and hopefully figure out a way to move them and plant in the back acres in the future, have been noodling what to use for soil if I were to just let them sit there on the concrete for a few years and how big of a container I should use. The smaller I could get away with the better for me though as I’m very limited physically so I have to be really creative to move anything significant around.
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