2-4 years you get fruit on calleryana??!! can you come talk to my trees they don’t seem to know that. I have many trees that are 8-10 years old 10-16ft tall and over 6 ft wide on calleryana and have yet to see a bloom one let alone a fruit.
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@macmanmatty
Yes you need to bend some branches or partially girdle them ( gently). What variety of pears? Douglas, Harrow sweet, Duchess etc should be fruiting within 1-3 years. Asian pears can fruit quickly on many rootstocks even BET or Harbin.
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the biggest and oldest with no fruit are meadows , flemish beauty, seckel, warren (warren did bloom once but no fruit ) , orcas, ELM mystery pear, conference (grows poorly).
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Your list is of pears that are too hi chill for your area is the likely problem. Most of those are 800 hours or more, and at your borderline 8b / 9a I bet you often don’t get six hundred hours. My advice is start over with lower chill southern pears like Golden Boy (my first choice) Acres Home, Southern Bartlett, Baldwin, Florida Home, Courthouse, Tennosoui, (Tennessee is a souther pear but probably too high chill even), My Winnie and Granny Durden Pears will work, oh LeConte, Leona, Olton Brouzard and Scarlett should all work.
Seriously, I would literally cut those high chill pears down and graft lower chill pears in their stumps. Look at their chilling requirements and compare them to the chilling data from your closest weather station. Your state agricultural college or university should have a calculator that will help you calculate the chilling hours you have gotten in recent years. Most folks in that border zone in coastal Georgia, Florida and Gulf states have only been getting about 300 to 400 chilling hours or less these most recent warm winters. Seriously if you are in these areas there is no point in bothering with a pear with an 800 hr chilling requirement especially now that the climate in the SEUSA is clearly warming. (No claims one way or the other about human cause). God bless.
Marcus
Marcus
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Here are the chill hours of some of the pears you mentioned (obtained through a quick interent search). I have heard Flemish beauty and others are closer to 1000 chill hours.
Seckel: 500
Bartlett: 500–600
Warren: 600
Bosc: 500–600
Comice: 600
D’Anjou, Flemish Beauty, Orcas, Rescue: 800
According to the Dave Wilson website
Bartlett Pear -WHERE TO BUY- [DWN Top 100 Variety]
World’s most popular pear. Early midseason, high quality, tolerates hot summers. 500-600 hours. Self-fruitful in most climates of Western U.S. Elsewhere, pollenized by Bosc, D’Anjou, Winter Nelis.
Blake’s Pride Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
This yellow and light-golden pear was developed in Kearneysville, WV. Resistant to fire blight. Ripens 10-14 days after Bartlett. Pollenized by Bartlett, Harrow Delight or Warren. 800 hours. USDA Zones 5-9.
Bosc Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Long and narrow shape, brown skin. Superb quality, one of the best. Harvest late October. Use fresh or cooked. Susceptible to fire blight in warm, moist climates. 500-600 hours. Pollenized by Bartlett or other pear.
California Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Max Red Bartlett x Comice. Home orchard variety for hot inland valley climates: Redding, Fresno, Bakersfield. Yellowish green with red blush. Excellent quality, very productive. August harvest. 500-600 hours. Self-fruitful.
Comice Pear WHERE TO BUY-
The famous gift pack pear. Sweet, aromatic, fine texture, superb flavor and quality - one of the best. Short neck, greenish-yellow skin with red blush. Late harvest. 600 hours. Self-fruitful in most climates of Western U.S. or plant with Bartlett.
D’Anjou Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Large, short necked, firm, good quality, keeps well. Harvest September 1st, one month after Bartlett in Central CA. 800 hours. Pollenized by Bartlett.
Dave’s Disease-Resistant Pear Assortment -WHERE TO BUY-
Retailers ordering this assortment will receive William’s Pride, Blake’s Pride, Kieffer, Potomac, Warren.
Dave’s Pear Assortment -WHERE TO BUY-
Retailers ordering this assortment will receive Bosc, Comice, D’Anjou, Seckel, Sensation Red Bartlett.
Flordahome Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Low-chill pear from Florida. Very nice quality: sweet, smooth-textured, juicy, flavorful. Harvest July/August in So. Calif. Early bloom. Chilling requirement less than 400 hours. Partly self-fruitful.
** Harrow Delight Pear**
-WHERE TO BUY-
Fire blight resistant, fruit similar to Bartlett. Yellow skin with attractive red blush. Smooth, fine flesh is especially flavorful. Ripe two weeks before Bartlett. Heavy bearing tree. Introduced in 1982 (Ontario, Canada). 800 hours. Interfruitful with Bartlett, Bosc, D’Anjou and Moonglow.
Hood Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Very low chilling requirement, interfruitful with Flordahome. Large, early season fruit has yellow-green skin and sweet, mild-flavored flesh. Reported to be highly resistant to fire blight. 100-200 hours.
Kieffer Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Medium to large late season fruit for canning and cooking. Sprightly flavor, coarse texture. Resists fire blight, tolerates hot climates. Dependable crops. 200-300 hours. Self-fruitful.
Magness Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Seckel x Comice. Medium-sized, short-necked, greenish-yellow, lightly russeted fruit. A thick skin reduces insect damage and contributes to long storage life. Soft, sweet, juicy flesh with minimal grit. Moderately vigorous, spreading tree. Shows resistance to fire blight. Pollinated by Harrow Delight, 20th Century or other Asian pear. Matures early September. Hardy in Zones 6-9. 400 hours.
Moonglow Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Resistant to fire blight. Large fruit, for fresh use or canning. Productive, spur-type tree. Midseason harvest. 400-500 hours. Pollenizer required, good pollenizer for other pears.
Orient Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Fire blight resistant. Beautiful, large, nearly round fruits with shiny yellow skin and red blush. Flesh firm and juicy with mild flavor, used mainly for canning. Large, vigorous tree. Introduced in 1945 (Chico, CA). 350 hours. Interfruitful with Kieffer and Moonglow.
Potomac Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Moonglow x Buerre D’Anjou. Ripens to a light green. Flesh texture is moderately fine and buttery. Pleasingly subacid flavor with mild aroma. Tree shows more resistance to blight than Seckel. Developed by the USDA and Ohio State University.
Red D’Anjou Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Large, short necked, firm. Stores well, excellent quality and smooth texture. Ripens with D’Anjou around September 1st. Strong full red color is very even, unlike Red Bartlett which has a blushed color. 800 hours pollenized by Bartlett.
Seckel Pear -WHERE TO BUY- [Taste Test Winner]
Connoisseurs’ favorite. Sweet, flavorful, aromatic, spicy, perhaps the best dessert pear. Russeted brown skin. Resists fire blight. Does not cross-pollinate with Bartlett. 500 hours. Self-fruitful.
Sensation Red Bartlett Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
High quality Bartlett-type fruit with attractive red skin. Relatively small tree. 700 hours. Self-fruitful in most climates of Western U.S. Elsewhere, pollenized by Bosc, D’Anjou, or other pear.
Southern Bartlett Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
Chance Sport of Bartlett found on an old Louisiana homestead. Moderate fire blight resisitance. Spreading growth habit. Less than 400 hours chill requirement. Self-fertile.
Southern King Pear -WHERE TO BUY-
A high quality traditional pear of unknown parentage. Popular in Houston and other low chill areas. Shows resistance to fire blight. Good for fresh eating or canning. Self-fruitful. Less than 400 hours.
Warren Pear -WHERE TO BUY- [DWN Top 100 Variety]
Excellent quality dessert pear, tree is highly resistant to fire blight. Medium to large, long-necked fruit with pale green skin, sometimes blushed red. Smooth flesh (no grit cells) is juicy and buttery with superb flavor. Good keeper. Cold hardy to -20 deg F. From Mississippi. 600 hours. Self-fruitful
Winter Nelis -WHERE TO BUY-Excellent quality dessert pear, tree is highly resistant to fire blight. Medium to large, long-necked fruit with pale green skin, sometimes blushed red. Smooth flesh (no grit cells) is juicy and buttery with superb flavor. Good keeper. Cold hardy to -20 deg F. From Mississippi. 600 hours. Self-fruitful
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the southeast is warming??!! we had had one coldest winters on record this year and I have gotten over 800 hours below 45 according to our backyard weather station when last years was only about 300. According to getchill.net we have had years of over 1000 hours of chill and years as low as 200. I have big yard and just plant what I want. I find chill hours to be useless noone can even agree on what a chill hour actually is. That’s agreeinga board is 3 feet long but not having any consensus to how long a foot is. I have johnathon and west field seek no further apples that fruit and grow well here (they are rated at 800-1000 hours of chill) and have gotten fruit off of santa maria pear , and I did get fruit off of conference pear once the year it got a nasty fire blight infection , which thankfully I have not seen in my orchard in 5 years. I have heard of pears take a long time to fruit on non dwarf rootstock ie 10-25 years.
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Years where we got less than 1000 chilling hours in Statesboro Georgia were rare as hens teeth until about ten years ago. In the last six years we have had three years where we barely broke 600 hours. Yes we had a cold January, but it’s really the first somewhat normal December and January we have had in a long time. Now we are in early February and the forecasts is for sixties and seventies for the next ten days. January may have been cold but overall we may end up just having a “normal” winter in terms of chilling hours. And quite frankly, in terms of it being the coldest ever. Not even close. Sixteen and fifteen degrees were common when I was a child. Heck, once in my life in the 80s it got down to +3. We have not gotten below 22 here this year. The mean annual low temperature is suppose to be 20F in Hardiness Zone 8 and during our coldest night we were two degrees above it. It was a normal winter, but if the worming trend continues, it might go down as a really short one. The problem is that we have forgotten what a normal winter is supposed to be in the South East. God bless.
Marcus
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Hi, wizzard here. I’am grower of all types of fruits and flower. I bit green thumbish . Come across discussion, today. I have what I believe a callery tree, not a bush but bush like. let me explain. Planted a moon glow pear tree. My donkeys eat it down to the ground. For the last 3 years or so have this suckers coming up from it. Below the graft. Gets flowers like pears and this little brown useless fruit on it. It took some time to idnifyie this fruit. Till just today took a look into what root stocks are used for moon glow pear, low and beholed . Spotted pictures of the fruit. I must have Callery tree suckers. Read a bunch of the above comments. Wondering will this pile of suckers/tree be fine to graft fruits scions on it? Perhaps turn it into a multy type pear tree. Because I will be getting into grafting this spring. Do lots of cloning but no grafting. And what other type fruit will graft on to this or is it just pears. Live in zone 6 Southeastern Pa. Thank you for your time 12/10/18
wizzard
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The Cleveland Pear can pollenate the Bradford so can the suckers the Bradford can put up if left as they are a grafted tree. We have them in Lincoln Nebraska and it’s turning into a nightmare.
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The Bradford pear and anything like the Bradford pear is outlawed from being sold in Ohio. The callery rootstocks are invasive and taking over every empty piece of open land it can find to grow in. The roots are very, very long and you have to dig them out to keep them from regrowing. they are growing in every flower bed I have, along ,my pond, creek and also in the edges of my forested areas. They are a nightmare.
I bought Orient pear tree that I found out was grafted on a callery rootstock. I dug it out and threw it away. I want nothing to do with any callery rootstock. Period!
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@MikeC
Most of us agree in places where they are a pest they need eraticated by whatever means necessary. I use the rootstocks frequently which are good in Kansas. There are times when im traveling i have seen fields of them, looked at them up close and saw why you feel the way you do! Mostly Oklahoma and Missouri is where ive seen problems but not in Colorado , Wyoming, or Nebraska. Its likely i would tordan entire fields if thats what it took and i think it is. At a minimum if people stop them from seeding it will help. At my location BET and Callery rootstocks are needed to survive in this location. Ive planted some ohxf rootstocks and in certain locations they are struggling to live but have not grown in 3 years. Some locations are so hostile 1 in 4 callery lived when i planted them as rootstocks.
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I grafted 3 volunteer Callery with Winter Nelis a few weeks ago. They all have opened buds and are growing with one on a large rootstock already a foot tall.
I agree about Callery being an invasive, but mixed hardwoods outgrow it.
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If I thought eliminating my few callery rootstocks would make any reasonable difference in them growing everywhere I would never have grafted to them. They are in my area to stay I think but as @Fusion_power mentioned they don’t compete with our established woodlands.
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If the woodlands are thick enough probably not an issue. However, these invasive trees are everywhere there is an empty spot on land, field, or around a creek or pond. There are entire empty plots of land that were just grasses and small brush, now they are entirely overcome with these trees. If you travel up and down any highway or roadway you can see them EVERYWHERE! You notice them a lot more when they blooming in the springtime. If you cut them down to the ground they do not die. It just makes them mad and they come up twice as thick and send runners out from them. I have not seen anything this prolific in just a few short years time. I am not sure how much Tordon it will take to control this flood of invasive trees. I need to buy stock in that company if that is the only thing that would kill those things.
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This Cullenary Pear stuff has one and only one solution. .Kill them all. Tordon on any root you cut off imediately.after cutting it works fairly well. I have a dropper bottle I use on small ones and the quart container has a valve to open and close. Use a pair of nitrile gloves. Contacting it on your skin is not wise! You can buy Tordon at tractor supply.
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How far north will callery grow? Will they survive in the upper zone 4 or the lower zone 3?
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If you live in the Deep South, you probably don’t have many or any really good alternatives to callary. They don’t seem to compete very well with the native vegetation in South Georgia. My guess is that pines and sweet gum grow so fast in waste places that I doubt we will get mono-culture thickets of callary here.
I sure don’t see the natives outcompeting the calleries as far south as Montgomery/Wetumpka AL.
A ‘time-passer’ on trips back home to Auburn(AL) from MO &/or KY, when the kids were still at home, was to count callery seedlings growing along the interstates - easy to pick out when in bloom, or into the Christmas season, when many, if not most, were still wearing colorful red/purple fall foliage.
Massive infestations of them at highway interchanges along the interstate, and vast expanses of almost monoculture callery forests in unmanaged open spaces bordering the highways skirting the north side of Montgomery.
Give callery time and bet rootstock nearby and they quickly cross, acclimate and thrive. Dont let them go to seed and they are harmless.
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