Hello everyone! So I’ve been browsing my local fruit markets and keep encountering Asian pears. I finally broke down and bought one just to see what it was all about; had to admit the flavor-fulness caught me off guard. I started researching them and arrived at selecting 20th Century and Hosui for my cultivars. Those two seem to cross-pollinate and win taste tests consistently. Typically I research things much further, but work has had me busy with tax season around the bend. Anyone fairly knowledgeable on these and if so please feel free to post as much info on them as possible. I hate reading the nursery reviews because you get too much hot air for my likings. Would love to draw on the knowledge pool considering experience IMO is always the best teacher. Thanks everyone, I look forward to your responses. Happy holidays!
I added a Korean Giant Asian pear this past spring. It didn’t grow too well this summer. But looks to have flower buds now. I’ve read good reviews on KG.
There are quite a few Asian pear discussions. If you type Asian pear in the search box you’ll see a lot of hits.
Below is just one of them. Great idea to add one to your yard!
I don’t know how close our climates are, but I am in zone 8a in central Ga. I also picked the same 2 you did. I planted mine 2 years ago, and have gotten Twentieth Century pears both years and Hosui this year. Though I like the flavor and texture of Hosui best, I also enjoyed the Twentieth Century pears very much. They seem to grow well with little pest pressure here. Hope they do well for you also.
TFN
I also plan on adding KG to my little orchard, as I have read great reviews as well.
TFN
I am about an hour drive north of you and I have some young Yoinashi and Korean Giant Asian pear trees. I nearly had a few samples this year, but the squirrels got to them in July. If you want to try some new varieties, I’ll give you some cuttings after I prune this winter.
Once I get some larger trees established from Willis Orchards or Ty Ty Nursery I’ll certainly be sure to get back at you @ZombieFruit. Thanks for letting me know. After reading the other forum topic I think I’m going with Kosui and Korean Giant. May eventually give Shinko a try too. In doing more research it looks like there’s a monster Asian pear farm in Allentown, PA not too many hours from my neck of the woods. Don’t want to compete with that 
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I thought Olympic and Korean Giant are the same.
I meant to say Shinko, sorry silly me haha 
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DeepBlueDustin,
It would be a good idea to be careful when buying from Ty Ty Nursery, or so I’ve heard. If they have improved (and perhaps they have), then great.
What I have heard anecdotally is that while Willis Orchards has a signficantly better track record than Ty Ty, they aren’t as reliable as some other nurseries. Further, while it’s been awhile, I seem to recall hearing that they have improved over time.
Ison’s Nursery sells some large “Instant Orchard” fruit trees of the same size as Willis and at a lower price. What I’ve heard is that if you pick up your trees from Ison’s in person, they have great trees. Mail-order seems to be not as consistent, although probably the best of these three companies. While Ison’s doesn’t show up as having any “Instant Orchard” Asian pears right now, they will probably have some available in the spring. You could call and ask and they could probably tell you.
Of course this information could all be out of date.
There are a couple of other options as well if you want large trees. Stark Bros. has a limited number of “Supreme XL” trees, for example. You could check with them.
I am not sure what size caliper you are looking for, but White Oak Nursery (Amish, but they do have a phone: 717-687-8884) in Strasburg, PA has inexpensive trees of the largest size that I have ever received from a nursery. I know they have Kosui and Korean Giant, and I think they also have Shinko.
That’s good to know.
Can you give us any further details, such as approximate size, range of what they have available, and price?
Thanks @ZombieFruit I’ll definitely be calling up that Amish gentleman! Love to go local and I’ve dealt with them very much so in my area.
Any chance you recall the name or any details of this farm? I live a 20 minutes north of Allentown and would like to check it out. I know a few years back there was a fellow that planted quite a few acres of Asian pears in Germansville, a few miles northwest of Allentown, but last I heard he sold the property and all the trees were bulldozed. Not sure why he sold, he sank quite a bit of money into planting the orchard, believe he put in irrigation for all of it too.
According to the 2019 White Oak Nursery Catalog they sell Kosui, Hosui, and Korean Giant. It indicates they are semi-dwarf- my pear from them was on OFH 87. Each Asian Pear is $16.75. Bulk discounts apply. My trees were around 1" caliper at the graft.
DeepBlueDustin,
Correction: I was mistaken about Ison’s and their “Instant Orchard” / “I/O” trees. The I/O trees are listed in a different place one has to poke around a bit in order to find. They do in fact have I/O Asian pears available at the moment; see https://www.isons.com/product-category/fruit-trees/instant-orchard/io-asian-pear-trees/.
ZombieFruit,
That’s a really good deal.
How good of a selection do they have of other types of fruit?
Can’t believe Ty Ty is still in business.
Before ordering from any nursery, please google “Scoop on + the name of the nursery”
For example, google “Scoop on Ty Ty Nursery.”
Read reviews from a garden watchdog. Any nursery, that has more negatives than positives, should be avoided. Ty Ty is one of them.
I’ll be honest I watch Dave’s garden on reviews… never had a problem with Ty Ty. Everything I got was as ordered and decent quality. Guess I might’ve just been lucky so far.
DeepBlueDustin,
I could well be that Ty Ty has changed for the better. Truly I hope that’s what it is.