As some may remember, I removed pretty much all my apple and (European) pear trees in order to focus on Asian Pears. They have been the ones to consistently make an acceptable crop without spraying here in SE PA. I planted Hosui, Shin Li, and Korean Giant (early, mid, late) last year. I recently came across the variety Ichiban which is apparently even earlier than Hosui. For the record, Hosui should ripen with Shinseiki, which I just picked at my work orchard.
All that being said, does anyone have experience with Ichiban? Is it a good pear?
You can try Shinsui. I’ve been eating them for over a week now. They start to ripen a couple weeks before Hosui. I like them a lot. The skin is smooth and easy to eat, but they’re not as crisp as Hosui. They can be sweeter in my opinion though.
My Ichiban has had problems. Burnt Ridge sent me a rootless tree. Then the next year deer busted it up. I had to graft it to something else in order to keep the variety. I should finally get a fruit next year.
I’ve got Shin Li. Any other suggestions. By the way. I’ve stored Shin Li for well over 6 months and they were perfect. One of the longest storing fruits you can find.
Agreed on the storage aspect. I’ve bought them at a farmer’s market in San Francisco in March and they were fantastic. They store well even in a regular refrigerator into the spring. I don’t have personal experience with others matching this description. @tonyOmahaz5 Might have suggestions for you though.
Here’s a picture taken today of one of my ichiban nashi trees in Western Oregon. It was over 100 degrees today, which is why the apple in the background is pouting. The ichibans are just edible right now, but will be prime in about a week, roughly on par with my shinseiki. Most years it is ripe the first week of August but the spring weather was unsettled this year. I have trouble with pseudomonas on asian pears, so ichiban’s disease resistance is appreciated. The flavor is good, with juicyfruit gum and butterscotch notes when it’s fully ripe, but probably a tier down from a prime chojuro.
Do you have any opinions on the vigor vs other Asian pears? I was thinking about grafting over some old Bartletts to it. I’ve done the same with Hosui, Shinsui and Yoinashi. Yoinashi performs the best and Hosui and Shinsui are just vigorous enough.
Ichiban is probably my least vigorous asian pear, somewhere around 50% of Yoinashi. I’ve only grown it on OHxF 87, which makes Ichiban’s lack of vigor more pronounced.
