I have a six year graft of Ayers on Callery. No issues from compatibility to date.
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The thing about some of the wild calleries in my area is they are nearly imcompatible with everything. Some callery strains graft fine the first time. I’ve noticed some types of pears that are a specific variety eg. Magness might not be true to type when you get them so it’s best to get scions from two sources and graft 2 trees if you have the room and if scions are available. I requested magness from the USDA this year and will try again with a different stick of magness and see how it grows. I may have requested some more magness from singing tree. I was going to order from Bob Purvis this year and the list came out very late and most scions I aquired other places. I might need to look at Bobs list again and make sure there is nothing I overlooked.
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@clarkinks. I’m growing out some seedling Callery from a landscaping Bradford type callery ( It could be one of the improved varieties with a better crotch angle) – how do these hold up for compatibility? I’m probably going to end up grafting a lower chill pear (most of which hybrids) such as Hood, Flordahome, Kieffer and Fanstil.
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Kieffer I know will graft excellent to those. If you need to graft kieffer to the callery and graft the others to it. The others may graft fine but then again they may not. Many people use an interstem of a more compatible pear like old home farmingdale and graft everything to that.
You might try seckel. I like eating them when they’re still a bit crisp, although the skin is a little thicker than some pears… Or maybe it just seems that way since they’re smaller pears so there is more skin in each bite.
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By the way @Lucky_P I grafted half my warren over to Karl’s favorite which I was smiling about and thinking of your little trick when I did it. Did the same thing with Magness on kieffer and Duchess so thanks for the tip! Those bees will know they were tricked every time they hit a magness and warren bloom. Lol
My Warren pear is now about 10 or 11 years old and it has been a heavy producer for the last 4 years, light in the beginning, first year.This past summer it had an ungodly amount.
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How would you rate the taste?
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Warren pear for me rate about as good as it get. When you have so many good varieties to choose from , you name it and you like to grow just a couple of tree’s , for me it going to be a Warren. I only grow one European type the rest are all asian. I am totally happy with just this one.
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I have a similar report, 10+ yrs.bering heavy last few,a good pear,
No fire blight.
I am just not a good judge of when to pick,anyone have advice on that?
I have picked to early and they did not sweeten up
If I wait to long , they end up on the ground.
How does one tell when it’s time to pick pears.?
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Tilt the pear up gently and if it breaks off it’s ripe but if not it’s not ripe.
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Ok, I will try that. Any other tips for judging ripeness in pears ?
( I have not done good with pears here ,in general,lost many varietys to blight .
Moonglow does good here, and warren .hoping to try others
Have heard people say a pear ripens from the inside out,and to pick and store to let them ripen,my timing was Allways off.
Thanks
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I would follow the Michigan US 437 crosses carefully if moonglow does well there eg. Potomac. Take a look at this link Question the History of a pear or know some history? Post it here! - #37 by clarkinks. You could say Potomac is an improved moonglow. Some pears rot from the inside out like clapps favorite and others like my red blushing bartlett turn fully ripe and yellow on the tree and never rot.
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I’m really looking forward to this pear producing
“Warren (PI 541448).-Originated at Hattiesburg, Mississippi, by T.O. Warren as chance seedling. Introduced in 1976. Fruit: medium to large; shape variable; skin dull brown, sometimes with red blush, smooth; flesh whitish, buttery, smooth, moderately firm; flavor said to be comparable to Magness or Comice; ripens about with Magness; stores much better than Bartlett. Tree: vigorous; pyramidal, with flat crotch angles; cold hardy; tolerant of high summer temperatures; resistant, but not immune, to fire blight; disease free foliage. - Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties
Due to much interest in the Warren pear I thought it best to give POMONA readers the history and other pertinent information about this fruit. I found this pear about nine years ago growing in the back yard of a friend. It hasn’t been determined if it is a named variety or a seedling though I tried hard to identify it. No other dessert pear will take our heat 60 miles from the Gulf, and not have blight with the good taste it has. Magness, Ayres, and Comice pears have the dessert taste I am speaking of. Magness grows here, Ayers does also, but Comice is limited to cool nights of West Coast regions. This pear is on extensive tests by many NAFEX members all over the U.S.A. Also most major federal and state horticultural stations have it on tests today.
The Warren pear is a somewhat drab brown color where sun does not reach it much, but can have a pretty red blush on the side exposed to the sun. It has a unique shape, a long neck, dew drop shape on maybe half the crop of medium to small size. Oddly enough larger specimens have two other shapes. One somewhat like Bartlett with a shoulder, and the other bell shaped like Magness. The long tapering neck of the smaller pears reminds one of the many times larger Devoe pear. This genetic trait makes it more difficult to identify the tree-three distinct shapes and sizes. Most pears don’t do this. Some may have bigger or smaller fruit but of the same general shape. Taste: very sweet and juicy; several drops of juice fall after each bite. The seed core is very small and you eat over 98% of the pear. It has a pleasant aroma, too. Blight: very resistant to blight. It sometimes appears only near the top of a few limbs, though tests show many varieties alongside of the same age that do blight. Bearing: I don’t have all the data to evaluate it properly but know it bears heavily some years, not like the Magness that is noted for shy bearing. Have patience. In some locations it fruits out the second year, but in my region it takes six, seven, or eight years to first hold fruit. This pear is very compatible on Pyrus calleryana rootstock and should do well on any good standard root base. I would not use quince as a base for it, as quince is in another genus. Growth is fast and rank on Pyrus calleryana in a pretty, pyramidal, Christmas tree shape with thick limbs and healthy medium size, dark green leaves. I rate it superb in flavor, even better than Comice, known as one of the best. This is unofficial, but tests I have run have proven that the Warren pear may well be self-fertile. I am almost sure this pear has Pyrus communis blood in its genetic background, from which most of our high dessert types come from. I am not too concerned whether we ever classify it. I’m just well pleased to have such a pear. It is the fastest, most healthy grower on Pyrus calleryana I have grafted in over 50 years. – T.O. Warren, 1986, Pomona.“ - https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?id=1436384
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Better flavor than Comice? That is a high bar to set for this pear, IMO. I love those Comice pears from Harry and David.
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I agree royal riviera are delicious
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It does like Cally, grows like a weed. Just never fruits for me here in Dallas
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That’s a real bummer!
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Ever try it on Quince? My Magness has fruited in the third year twice for me now, northof Austin and in Dallas on quince. The squirrels sure are thankful too!
Drew
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Yes & tree is only 6 ft tall after 7 years. But there may be other issues involved, nothing has grown well on that patch of land. A soil test last fall said the soil was very low in Phosphorous & 8.5-9 for PH, quite a bit different than the other soil here. This winter I added sulfur, I’ll add some phosphorous shortly, maybe the Warren will do better
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