Found an old pear - help needed

General Fruit Growing
#1

Hey everyone. I ran across an old pear tree this spring and noticed it had a few blossoms. I went back to it this weekend and found about a dozen or so pears on the tree, most with bird pecks.

The tree is covered in poison ivy I believe. The tree did have some bee growth this year, but it’s sure past it’s prime. I will get some scion wood at the end of winter.

Few questions for those with the knowledge of these things which I am thankful that so many share)

  1. Any guess as to the cultivar? It’s a pretty big tree as far as trunk diameter goes. Home site is from 1940 in VA.

  2. I noticed a few seedling or root sprout pears around the tree, maybe 10 feet from the trunk. Could these be root sprouts? We do have callery pears, but the immediate area doesn’t have any.

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5 Likes
#2

Looks like D’Anjou. The sprouts are probably seedlings from dropped fruit.

3 Likes
#3

? winter nelis pear

1 Like
#4

Thanks for the responses.

Not sure if it shows up in the pictures, but it does appear to have had some fire blight this year. At first I thought it may have been a broken branch, but it wasn’t.

#5

I too would have guessed Winter Nellis.

A friend rents a house built about 1935 that has an old and very productive pear tree growing in the yard. The pears are very aromatic and only moderately sweet. I would rate them as good to very good straight off the tree. I have no idea what they are.These are the pears it produces. https://www.selectedplants.com/miscan/pears2022.jpg