This is the first year my Kikusui Asian Pear has fruited, and so far I’m a little suspicious. It’s very pear shaped, and not the round shape I would expect. RIght now its a little smaller than a golf ball, so perhaps it will round-up as it matures? Those of you who have them, do you think this looks like a kikusui or not? I’m thinking it may be another mislabeld tree!
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I don’t have Kikusui but I was be very surprised if that turned out to be Kikusui - its too far off now in shape/color/calyx and the leaves also don’t look like asian pear. Let us know how it turns out, and maybe someone can ID it.
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I think you got a mislabeled Kikusui Asian pear tree. Asian pear leaves is much rounder in shape. Kikisui fruit is also round. I will attach a photo below,
Tony
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YEP!!! Just what I thought!!! Thanks guys. At least it seems to be a very healthy, productive tree so we will see how it turns out.
There is no doubt in my mind that I must be the unluckiest grower on here when it comes to getting mislabeled trees. And before someone says this is what I get for buying from a big box store…this one came from an online nursery, albeit one many people seem to have low opinions of: Willis Orchards. I’m reluctant to throw them under the bus because of this, since I’ve generally had pretty good overall experience with them, but facts are facts and it looks like they sold me the wrong tree here. And even though it’s a 4th leaf tree, the original label is still on it so there is no question of whether I somehow got it mixed up! In the past Willis has told me that they will replace a mislabeled tree if one turns out to be wrong, and that the 1 year guarantee does not apply to a mislabel (which it shouldn’t). SO I suspect they will replace it. Of course that doesn’t make up for the 4 years of effort and work and patience I put into the wrong tree, but it’s certainly not my first or last and if it is a decent pear then I’ll probably keep it and not be too upset about it.
Thanks again for confirming my suspicions!
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One of my 4 in 1s looks like that. I’ll report back later.
That’s great! Maybe there is still hope that it is some kind of asian pear instead of a euro, which is what I assumed. Please do let me know how yours turn out! Thanks, Vinod!
Hi Kevin,
Here’s my Kikusui
My Chojuro looked pear like a week ago. It’s a lot rounder now.
None of my Asian Pears have that calyx though.
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Its almost certainly a Euro unfortunately. I wonder if its not one of the OHxF pears (rootstock), it looks a bit like Old Home.
Well, so much for hoping it was at least Asian. When Vinod said one of his 4 in 1’s looked like my photo, I assumed (incorrectly I bet) that all 4 of your (Vinod) 4-in-1’s were Asian. One thing is sure…the photo you just posted of your kikusui looks nothing like mine!!! Mine definately looks European from what I know, so I’d say that’s what it is.
SO now we are down to (almost for certain) some kind of Euro, so I can only hope that it is at least a tasty one. Either way, it looks like I’ve got yet another mislabel. @Olpea discovered this spring that at least 2 of peach trees were mislabels, now I’ve got a pear as well. I really need to make a list sometime of all the mislabeled trees I have discovered on my almost 100 fruit trees. You can be sure it is a LOT!!! More than half were from Big Box stores but not a dramatic majority. Several are from on-line nurseries. What is noteworthy about the big box store mislabels is that 100%- ALL OF THEM- are from Lowes. I buy a lot of big box store trees, so my experience is closer to statistically valid than you might think (though I concede it isn’t). But I think the world should know that Lowes, in my fairly large sample size (estimate: 25-30 trees total from Big Box) IS DRAMATICALLY more likely to mislabel trees. I’ve never had a mistake at home depot, tractor supply, or walmart. That being said, I HAVE seen mislabeled trees at walmart more than once…mislabled so badly that it was obvious on site because it would be things like an apple labeled as a peach or a cherry labeled as a pear and so on. Things that would be obvious to even the most inexperienced nurseryman- just not to the walmart workers!
Thanks again for the help with this.
Overall, I think I’ve gotten about 3-4% mislabeled from reputable nurseries.
Actually Cityman, I must have been unclear in my writing somewhere. I don’t think I’ve discovered any mislabeled peach trees this spring (although I think I discovered some mislabeled plums for the first time this spring). But either way it is frustrating to get mislabeled stock, when you research the attributes of a particular cultivar which looks like it would do well in one’s area.
Sorry for the confusion, I was typing on my phone. All 4 varieties in my 4-in-1 are Asian Pears.
No, it was me who wasn’t clear in my statement because I accidentally left out the word “my”. I meant to say that " @Olpea discovered this spring that at least 2 of MY peach trees were mislabels"
You may not even recall, but I posted some photos of several of my peach trees and identified 2 of them as red haven and one as a Georgia bell- which is what I bought them to be. You immediately noticed the “showy” blooms on the two supposed Red Havens and informed me that Red Havens don’t have those big showy blooms. Next, you were kind enough to go look at a blooming Georgia Bell at a church near your house and you came back and told me the tree in my photo didn’t match the one at the church so it was a mislabel as well!!!
So as I TRIED to say earlier, you discovered (for me) this spring that 3 of my peach trees were not true to label, and I’ve since discovered this Kikusui isn’t a kiku. So its not a great year for me and labels. The good news is that all the trees seem to be good trees even if they aren’t what I expected, so I’m not too upset,
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@thecityman …I believe I have a mislabeling issue as well. I purchased a “Red Haven” at home Depot several years ago.
If anyone can confirm not what the peach but confirm what it is not. I do not think it is a red Haven peach.
First of all it’s not freestone and second it ripens late June and not what I think should be mid to late July in zone 6b.
The peaches are ripe now.
So can folks here rule out red Haven?
Thanks
@DennisD
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From North Carolina Extension services’ description.
Prunus persica 'Redhaven' (Redhaven Peach) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
You are right that the real Red Haven is free stone and ripens in July/Aug in NC (which should be a bit ahead of your area). So, yours is one of those early peach and definitely not Red Haven.
We have people here who may be able to identify your peach. I tagged @Olpea who is our peach guru, and @blueberrythrill. Both have peach farms.
It’s hard for me to identify a peach variety from a picture but those don’t look like my Redhavens. Mine have a slight yellow blush and a lot less red flesh.
Looks like it could be Rich May which is early clingstone with red flesh. very red skin with no blush
Certainly doesn’t look like or sound like my red havens. But get used to mislabels. Lots of people will tell you that big box store trees are much more likely to be mislabeled, but as someone who has bought around 50 big box store trees and 75 online order trees, I have found both to be fairly even at a SHOCKING 40% rate. Did you read that. I said that more than 1 out of 3 trees I have bought - either from online vendors- are mislabeled. That is mind blowing, shocking, and terribly disappointing. Now, to be fair, a LOT of my online nursery orders were from vendors I leaned later are crooks and terrible people and terrible orchardists. If I had used high-end, well respected online vendors then perhaps my online mislabels would be a lot less than my big box store rates. But I cannot be sure. As it is, I just find it so unbelievable that I’ve gotten so many mislabels.
@mamuang @blueberrythrill @thecityman @Olpea @DennisD
Thanks for helping id.
It is disappointing however I’m not sure if taste as good, not too sweet, but juicy, as red Haven but if not I guess you have to pay a little price to get an earlier peach by a few weeks than red haven.
More cutaway views
It sounds like you know this, but I wanted to be sure: it is an absolutely established fact that early peaches are just not as good as later ones. Its a never ending challenge among all growers and breeders to try and get an early peach that is comparable to later ones. So don’t feel bad, and just know that you are right…its a price you pay to get an early peach. They certainly aren’t as good as later ones, but they certainly are a lot better than store bought peaches, and after a long winter without fresh fruit, I sure do enjoy my first peaches of the year!
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Cityman is correct. Early peaches have more quality issues than mid season peaches. Early peaches tend to be more “clingy”. They are smaller. They have a harder time developing sugar.
I agree with Rick. It looks like Rich May (aka Flavorich). That can actually be a very delicious peach. It’s very early. It has a lot of acid. It’s great in years where it can develop enough sugar, otherwise it can be too tart, or even bitter, as grown here.
The biggest problem is lack of production here. In the best of years the trees require little to no thinning. Any late frosts will pretty much wipe Rich May out.