I have 5 pear rootstocks coming next week. I have several scions to pick from. I’ve already top worked a pear tree and used about seven or eight different varieties. I want to select five for my rootstock help!
Here’s my scions choices, thanks Bob Vance.
Magness
Yoinashi
Harrow Sweet
Korean Giant
Jilin
Duchesse D’Angouleme
Rotkottis Frau Ostergotland
What rootstock did you get?
Based upon my research Magness sounds like the best Barlet type of pear, way better than Bartlett I think you should have at least two asian pears Korean Giant and Yoinashi both sound great. Korean Giant and Magness are two of the ones I decided to plant after a lot of research.
I don’t know all of them but would pick the following three: Korean, Harrow Sweet and Magness.
I have the first two and like them a lot for taste, productivity and disease resistance ( in my area).
Magness and Harrow Sweet need to be in the mix. Harrow Sweet is precocious/ fruits years earlier than other varieties to fulfill our instant gratification. Magness is slow to bear, but produces some of the best pears that can be grown in my climate.
Magness is not a Bartlett family pear. It is a Comice x Seckel cross.
Sorry I was thinking of Harvest Queen.
I second Mamuang on choices. KG and HS will produce early. Mine flowered the year after they went in the ground. The flavor is good on both. The fact that they produce quickly and taste good is important to me. Magness is slow to produce but like warren said to be very high quality. I wouldn’t know because I’m still waiting for them to produce. Duchess produces very quickly also and the pears are frequently 1 1/2 pounds each but the quality is not in the class of the other pears. I don’t grow the other 3 pears.
You are correct to suggest that Harvest Queen is one of the best Bartlett types. I’ve sampled it for the last two years at the local farm, and it is an incredible pear. Harvest Queen has become my new favorite pear, just ahead of Magness.
I got the names mixed up and I was going to plant the wrong variety. LOL
I agree with Mamuang, Matt, and Clark about Magness, Harrow Sweet, and Korean Giant being the top 3.
That leaves:
Yoinashi- Good, traditional Asian pear, not as good as KG, but worth growing
Jilin- Haven’t gotten fruit, but it sounds like an interesting variant on an Asian pear (ARS: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?1917811)
Duchesse D’Angouleme- No fruit yet for me. I’d need to hear more from Clark
Rotkottis Frau Ostergotland- No fruit yet for me. Red flesh should look pretty neat, but I haven’t had it flower in the 4 years since I graft it. So, it is more like Magness than Harrow Sweet in that regard.
So, I’m not really sure about the last 4, but would probably do the first 2, just because I don’t like waiting for Euro’s to fruit. Or even an extra Korean Giant.
In what way was the quality low? Bad texture/grit? Not sweet? Bad flavor?
Also, is Duchess the same as “Duchess d’Angouleme”? I looked in Pears of New York and I see 15+ pears that start with Duchess. I suppose I can compare in a few years when the grafts I made from the Duchess wood you sent me fruit alongside the Duchess d’Angouleme from ARS.
Bob,
The duchess D’ angoulme I’m referring to are not bad pears but they are in the class of slightly course texture though have a very pleasant non grainy flavor. If to much rain happens around the time of harvest which is common in the fall here the flavor can turn from good to blan. They were nice tasting pears last year that can be seen here Here comes the 2016 apple and Pear harvest!. Keep in mind my idea of better pears are Drippin’ honey or my small unnamed yellow pear that can be seen in the same thread as above. Those pears compared with other pears will always rate fairly high. Duchess easily beat a grocery store pear any day if that’s a good comparison. Magness ripens in September typically. Duchess in my area can ripen as late as late November depending on how early spring comes.
In what way was the quality low? Bad texture/grit? Not sweet? Bad flavor?
Quality is not low or bad but not melting or buttery. Very sweet, pleasant and non grainy. They are named after the Duchess of D’Angoulme for a reason and with permission from the Duchess they were given that name.
Also, is Duchess the same as " Duchess d’Angouleme"? I looked in Pears of New York and I see 15+ pears that start with Duchess. I suppose I can compare in a few years when the grafts I made from the Duchess wood you sent me fruit alongside the Duchess d’Angouleme from ARS.
Yes they are the same pear Duchess d’Angouleme. I also grafted bronze types of Duchess d’Angouleme pear now. They are high quality for a large pear when the weather is cooperative. We have a rainy fall typically starting in September- October just as these pears are typically needing hot sunny dry days to ripen properly. At their worst they taste like a grocery store bartlett. Harrow sweet is a fall pear which like Duchess I consider positive because it extends the pear harvest. Harrow delight is summer ripening pear so.having some that ripen in every season is a bonus. Growing just duchess, harrow sweet , and Korean giant would mean you would not have any summer pears.
Technically all the Duchess pears are Duchess. Duchess d’Angoulême = Duchess of Angoulême, Angoulême is a region of France that “The Loire in Maine-et-Loire” is in, the Duchess d’Angoulême was found in “the Loire in Maine-et-Loire”. Some of them are named after their color or someone and so on.
OHxF 87 Pear Rootstock from Raintree. I don’t know the size… I hope they are larger than some of the rootstock I’ve received from them.
I do like the Comice type pears.
Thank you all for your feedback. So, I’m thinking I will graft the following: Updated
Magness
Harrow Sweet
Korean Giant
20th Century
Jilin
I hope to get into some of those Drippin’ honey pears as soon as possible as I’ve heard so much about them. Will keep everyone posted. Thanks once again to Bob Vance for sending so many nice scions. Will have to post my top work of the pear tree as those are doing well.
Thanks!!
Don’t let only 5 rootstocks set you back! If the trees will not be too crammed in you can do a double graft. Make a wedge on both sides of the stock (like a saddle graft prep) put a wedge on each scion and one goes on each side. whittle down the scions to fit, they can also be grafting to each other.
Scott, you know, I was thinking about that!!! I’m not sure what size rootstock I will receive and didn’t know if the size of the rootstock would be able to nutritionally support the two scions. Dang… now you have me rethinking! Thanks Scott 
I bought three ohxf 87 last year from rain tree, had good roots but I let them grow all last summer and just grafted them this spring, I put on magness, ayers, and Altoona
I hope I don’t have to wait… These scions I have are really nice.