I posted this to the Shenandoah pear topic a little while ago for @cottonwood . I know some people are still looking for fireblight resistant pears to put on their rootstocks. If your going off of Dr. Bells list here are a few from a supplier i dealt with in the past on ebay known as grubers The scions are not dormant i had to wrap them in parafilm when i grafted them but i had good luck with them. No disease problems and good take rates. He sells different bundles with different prices.
Here is the list to use for reference
Ayers and kieffer are more widely known for disease resistance.
Michael lists Shenandoah as poor disease resistance… and says This information is accurate to the best of our knowledge. But his new website is weird so maybe he was confused or its an error.
I dont know time will tell i have grown it a year which is a short time. Sometimes the pear experts like Dr. Bell are wrong. I can confirm the ones like Warren, ayers etc. Are very disease resistant. A tree like ayers i have grown around 30 years is as fireblight resistant as it is reported to be.
Good find on Etsy for cheaper @krismoriah on some scions even with shipping. The orient pears offered are also very disease resistant.
I picked up an orient pear on clearance from Rural King… its doing well.
I think disease resistance has got to be hard to put a label on… What may do well for you may not do for me and vice versa… or for that matter what may do well for me may do poorly in my neighbors yard.
I personally believe that most everything that i grow has its own built in defenses and the health of the roots and amount of sunlight give them their best fighting chance… i have no desire to spray against something that may not even be an issue… but i may spray at some point if something does become an issue. Until then i give what i grow its best opportunity to thrive on its own… and the predators that prey upon things their best opportunity to thrive. If i lose a few cultivars…thats ok too… i have plenty more. Diversity and polyculture will either make or break my hobby orchards… but it helps to have good breeding and choices to begin with.
Shibumi, have you had extreme heat and maybe a dry spell lasting 3 or 4 weeks? I had similar damage on 3 or 4 of my pears and found that regular watering stopped the damage.
I also grafted Hood this year and have a very healthy plant with dark green leaves. It is on an existing callery rootstock so did not have transplant shock and has not had a problem with water access.
