I forgot to post this in the summer… I picked a pear I grafted to my multi-grafted Asian tree. I thought it was labeled as Korean Giant that I got from a scion exchange, but seems to be something else.
It was ripe on Aug 22nd in my zone 7a/b area of Philadelphia.
It was all smaller pears, but they were unusual in that they had a very ‘buttery/soft-flesh’/spiced European flavor to me vs the more crisp-fleshed asian pears.
It kinda took over the tree. It shot up 20ft it looks like last 2-3 years:
I may prune it off. Just kinda curious what variety it could be.
Note: i guess i’ve seen some people have euro+asians on one tree. I wonder if i got a Euro on there. Anyway to tell by looking at the buds on a branch now if I posted that?
It looks a bit like White Doyenne… more pictures would be needed to be sure. It is often larger but can be smaller if not thinned much. I’m pretty sure it is a Euro whatever it is, there are no buttery asian pears.
Not Korean giant for sure, Korean giant makes big, apple-shaped, full russet, brown crispy Asian pears.
I would cut that top off at an angle away from a branch and paint it with tar or something, saving one or two major branches, and let the grafts below grow more.
Earlier this summer, i actually cut the huge/tall euro graft down and guided the fall with some rope so it minimized damage to the other asian grafted branches (it still knocked off a successful leafed-out graft from last year that i was able to regraft back on).
I did try to bark graft many varieites on remaining branch (unsuccessfully unfortunately, i was better bark grafting on smaller rootstock this year vs this large one), then tarred up the top with Doc Farwell graft seal.
I wonder if the bark grafts failed as i cut above the graft, so it would be asian on euro (maybe incompatible, even short term)…
Vs the euro on asian that i know worked. Or equally possible my grafts stunk as i never bark-grafted on a large branch like that.
