Have been greatly reducing the number of pears in my collection in 2023 and top working to fireblight resistant types. I’m growing about half of the varities i was growing at the beginning of 2022. There are other unknown varieties not included. I’m planning to reduce these numbers more and add a few others. What are your favorites and what changes are you making to your pear orchard?
Reddy Robin
Napoleon
Winter Nellis
Dawn
Seckle
Sugar pear
Harrow sweet
Harrow delight
Potomac
Sunrise
Ya li
Pai li
Charles harris
Clara frijs
Leona
Kieffer
Improved kieffer
Eldorado
Warren
Magness
Korean Giant
Drippin Honey
Maxine
Karls favorite
Farmingdale
Duchess D’ Angoulme
Green Jade
Ubileen
Dabney
Luscious
Shenandoah
Honeysweet
Blakes Pride
Tyson
Ayers
Tenn
Orcas
Moonglow
TS Hardy
Abate Fetel
Hoskins
Pineapple
Orient
Spadona di Salerno
Frost
Comice
Concorde
Conference
ATA
Highland
Red comice
Red bartlett
Bartlett
Eenie
Menie
Miney
Moe
Phileson
Small yellow
Chojuro
Douglas
Clapps Favorite
Citron de carmes
Burford
Ulitcha
Rescue
Beurre hardy
Beurre Gifford
Jumbo
Saint Nicolas
Doctor Desportes
Lazy J
Flemish Beauty
Kosui
Joeys red flesh
The experts like Bell list is slightly different but there is overlap
I have these from your list. I show Winter Nelis spelled with one “L”.
Ayers
Clara Frijs
Douglas
Drippin Honey
Duchess D’ Angoulme
Harrow Delight
Harrow Sweet
Kieffer
Korean Giant
Magness
Potomac
small Yellow
Sunrise
Warren
Winter Nelis
Ya Li
I have these growing that are not on your list.
Daishi Li
Early Yellow
Harvest Queen
Hosui
Ledbetter
New World
Plumblee
Shinko
Spalding
Very Late (From Lucky, lost the ID, it is very late maturing)
Like many others I was hit hard by the late freeze and probably some fireblight. Most of my varieties have a history of fireblight resistance so I will keep them. Clarks Small yellow pear didn’t have any freeze or FB damage. Dripping Honey also didn’t have any damage and it is a high quality pear that I will add more limbs of it.
One thing i learned in pears is that nothing is correct. Pears can have many names it is not like English because it seldom is. People who speak English want to think of names in English. The thing is pears are not just English or does proper English apply. Accepting multiple names is part of it. In Chinese Li means pear. The way we say it and spell it is incorrect and inconsistent. The names below are what we use which are wrong
Daishi Li
Ya li
Pai li
Beurre means butter in French. Every pear starting with Beurre is simply calling them buttery pears. Eg.
Beurre Bosc
Beurre D’Anjou
In Belgian Beurre is Beurré eg.
Beurré Duval
The pears i’m adding for now are
Alexander Lucas
Bonne louise d’avranches pear
Gem
Bell
Frequently we are wrong even in English. We call williams bartlett as an example. It is the wrong name and we know that yet we use it. It does not really matter as long as we know what we mean. The more pears you grow and research the more you will understand the frustration of everything having 5 names and 3 being incorrect but more commonly used in certain circles. Consider the pear is called Williams in the area it came from and that its name is complex. I call it bartlett because here in the USA everyone learned it wrong. Would anyone know what i meant if i said Williams’ bon chrétien . The “Bon Chrétien” part is correct, and it means good christian.
There is very little more that we could do to be more incorrect on our knowledge and spelling of pears.
This is the full story
" The origins of this variety are uncertain. “Bon Chrétien” (Good Christian) is named after Francis of Paola, a holy man whom King Louis XI of France had called to his deathbed as a healer in 1483. Francis offered the king a pear seed from his native Calabria with instructions to plant and care. Hence the pear tree was called “Good Christian”. The Williams pear is thought to date from 1765 to 1770 from the yard of an Aldermaston, England, schoolmaster named John Stair,[1] giving rise to the now-obscure synonyms ‘Aldermaston’ pear and ‘Stairs’ pear. A nurseryman named Williams later acquired the variety, and after introducing it to the rest of England, the pear became known as the Williams Pear.[2] However, the pear’s full name is Williams’ Bon Chretien, or “Williams’ good Christian.”[2]
In 1799 James Carter imported several Williams trees into the United States, and they were planted on the grounds of Thomas Brewer in Roxbury, Massachusetts.[2] The Massachusetts estate was later acquired by Enoch Bartlett of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Unaware of their origin, Bartlett named the pears after himself and introduced the variety into the United States. It was not realised that Bartlett and Williams Pears were the same until 1828, when new trees arrived from Europe.[2] By that time the Bartlett variety had become vastly popular in the United States, and they are still generally known as Bartlett pears in the US and Canada, although there are about 150 other synonyms worldwide"
" Enoch Bartlett (1779–1860) was a merchant[1] and farmer from Dorchester, Massachusetts, who owned what had been Thomas Brewer’s farm in Roxbury. This farm had a field of pear trees, one of which had particularly fine fruit. Because it was thought to be a seedling tree, it became known by the name “Bartlett pear”,[2] but in 1828 a new batch of pear trees arrived from England, and it was realised that the Bartlett pear was the same as the Williams pear. By this time the name “Bartlett pear” had stuck, and is still the most common name for this type of pear in Canada and the United States."
The pear most people call “Clarks Small yellow pear” is delicious and is highly resistant to disease etc. It does not keep and it is hard pick it right which means it will never be a commercial pear. It is a pleasure to grow in many ways. My favorite thing is eating it fresh but that limits the number of them i can grow.
The ones on the list are the ones i like best for now i have really cut back my collection. I used to grow these on @Fusion_power second list. Have grown many of the pears the USDA has in corvallis.
Fireblight has been an ongoing problem i’m fighting and many varities are being cut or have been cut. A few painful examples i cut out are
White doyenne
Dana hovey
Forelle
Have several hundred bearing age pear trees but many were top worked again this year.
We are both hoping Bell is available to us for testing next year. We proably better order this fall. It would be years before i add blocks of it if ever. Like sunrise a tree or two is plenty for now. I’m going to have to find some more winners with expired patents next year.
I have a Plumblee as well as a grafted branch, but I haven’t read much about it from growers other than one or two lost it to fireblight. It’s been clean so far for me, but no fruit yet. I have Arthur Ledbetter pear. I know there is also a John Ledbetter pear. I’m not sure if one of those is the same or different than your Ledbetter. A number of mine seem to have been hit by rust. I haven’t inspected all my trees, but Moonglow seems to be the only one that didn’t have it so far (only a limited number have fruit this year).
Arthur Ledbetter is the one i have tried growing. Was unaware of another ledbetter. Ledbetter is a fireblight resistant canning pear. Plumblee does get fireblight and i have lost trees of plumblee to fireblight.
A mature monster.bartlet planted in the mid 70’s never had fire fire blight, my neighbor planted it. 1 year old sunrise and moonglow and an unknown pear semi dwarf. Also planted in the mid 70’s. The unknown and Bartlet both have a nice pear load. Hoping you all can assist with identification on the unknown come harvest time.
Thank you for providing your favorites. I have 10 OHxF97 roots stocks potted for grafting come March. In the mean time I’ll research your list and purchase scions for the ones that I find appealing when scions come available.
Now harvesting the Bartlet… I’ll probably need a man lift, the tree is tall and huge.
Will continue to reduce my pears on the list to mostly fireblight resistant varities only. I have grown hundreds of different pears but most do not work out for this area. The only reason i grow that many is to figure out the ones i actually want. It has been a great priveledge to have the oppurtunity to see and taste so many types. Frequently leave many off the list by accident. The reason their is a list at all is because i just finished top working lots of different pears.
Pears are my favorite fruit. Store bought pears , tree ripe pears . I still have several gallon baggies of tree ripe bartlet in the deep freezer. I occasionally grab a bag throw it in the refrigerator to eat with breakfast. My wife makes a awesome low sugar pear preserve
In awe of the number of pear varieties you’re growing. Must be so interesting to be able to taste all those varieties fresh.
I’ve got Summercrisp, Red Clapp’s Favourite, Honeysweet and Shinseiki. I haven’t tasted the Honeysweet yet as it’s only 2 years old.
Summercrisp is a fantastic pear, you can eat it right off the tree and it’s crisp like an Asian pear. It’s flavour improves in storage but is past its prime after a few weeks. It’s supposedly resistant to fireblight.
Red Clapp’s is very good, though it needs to be picked at the perfect time. Too soon and it will not ripen, too late and it’s mushy in the middle. If you can get it just right it’s amazing. Supposedly not resistant to fireblight.
Shinseiki is ok, the tree has struggled a bit in my harsh winters. The fruit is ok. I like Asian pears but I prefer Euros if I had to choose.
I’ve got a bit of space left so might add one more pear next year. I’m up north so I’m trying to decide between Dewdrop, Patten, Harrow Crisp or Nova.
, tree ripe pears 
. I still have several gallon baggies of tree ripe bartlet in the deep freezer. I occasionally grab a bag throw it in the refrigerator to eat with breakfast. My wife makes a awesome low sugar pear preserve 
