I had my first Dabney pear tonight. I shared it with two of my sons. We all loved it! I think these could be one of the best pears for the south that no one is growing. Well I don’t think they are anyway. This tree actually put out a half ass decent bloom and fruit set in spite of no chill at all this year. Even my Hosui didn’t bloom much. It has bloomed and set a good amount of fruit the last several years in spite of being in too much shade, not having enough space and not having any chill. The fruit is really good too! Kind of Bartlett like in texture and plenty sweet. Oh yeah perfectly healthy tree for six plus years now also. I only wish I could keep the ravenous squirrels away and enjoy a few more of these. If you are in the mid or upper south you should be growing this one.
Man I think I ate the last one by accident I thought I had one more but I don’t see it darn. Next year I hope. They were nice sized but there also wasn’t very many after the squirrel attacks.
Not to me to this thread but I’m looking at planting more of these and cane across this so FYI:
The Dabney is the result of breeding trials in the 40s and 50s in Tennessee. Pears were bred with FB resistance in mind as well as Southern adaptation for chill hours and bacterial defoliation resistance. I’ve atrached an overview of the research at this link, probably more overviews out there as well.
The bacterial definition referenced is likely a combination of Fabraea Leaf Spot and Pear Scab and as a commercial grower of pears on the East Coast, I can tell you those are borderline bigger problems than FB as they’re more difficult to control. If these are somewhat resistant they’ll make your job a heck of a lot easier.
I’ve tasted both Dabney and Ayers and they’re damn good, even off the tree. Unsure of the others.
I read a review that Mericourt pears are small and turn to mush quickly after ripening. Another said Mericoyrt is late to produce. What has your experience been?
Harvested our first crop of Dabney pears and thought I would share a photo for reference. They have a good balanced flavor with a medium texture. Ripens ahead of most Euro pears and supposedly Fireblight resistant although, @clarkinks said he lost the variety to FB.