@bleedingdirt, that’s a really nice photo. Well done.
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It’s just a Kieffer but it’s my first pear and this is its second year in the ground. This photo was last Saturday so a lot more open now.
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Bleedingdirt,
They are pretty far along. Let’s hope the weather Stays as is. Your pears are looking good! My camera is not that great on my iPhone but I agree with SMC your picture is sharp.
Your kieffer looks very nice. They really are a good tree to have around. The crop is very reliable here in Kansas.
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Clark, fingers crossed 
for you and others!
I took that pic with my iPhone 6. You need to click on the screen where you want to focus. The trick is to have the sun behind you and on the subject.
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It was so sunny out today I could not even see the iPhone screen when I took the pictures. I’ll try to get some better pictures. We have extreme cold coming in which will be down to 18 degrees. As our predictiins come true im hoping some of you dodge the cold weather Strange weather - Will it get our blooms and fruit? - #614 by clarkinks
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My problem is that all of my stone fruit bloomed way too early this year,
and the weather has fluctuated so much, that the insects won’t come out
to pollinate anything. So the blossoms just fall unpollinated. Hand pollination
doesn’t work, because the blossoms just disintegrate.
Ray,
We got that last year on some trees I’m sorry to hear that.
You win some you lose some I guess and we have lost plenty of blossoms. These are some of my pears today showing color.
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I lost my harrow delight but it looks like KG , shinko, and shinseiki all made it
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The early pears don’t seem to have done to great this year. I had 3 + Asian pears get nailed but this type of year I’m not surprised at all. It’s been hit and miss.
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I’m surprised that harrow delight bloomed that early but on another note the apricot I got from @amadioranch is slower than the bush I grafted it on so I think it may work here every other year or so.
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So let’s talk about Midwest pears , I thought that three ohxf 87 rootstock would do for my needs but I think I’m wrong, maybe I need some ohxf 333 or quince. What are ur thoughts Clark?
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That sounds great on the apricot I would love to try it one of these days. I’ve had great luck here with several later blooming pears so long term if you have that problem every year you might need to top work that HD. My HD are to young to bloom so time will tell and I’ll let you know. I suspect it’s an early blooming pear every year because it’s very early ripening I’m told.
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They both produce fruit very quickly. 333 I planted a year ago and they were 2 year old trees I purchased and they are already producing a small number of flowers. Our soil does not allow them to get overly large. I suspect they will remain 7 feet or so. 111 apple rootstock is about 12-15’ here due to the clay loam soil. Quince would be fine also if a completely fireblight resistant pear is grafted to it such as pineapple, hood, leconte etc… I like resistant rootstock because some varieties I grow such as seckle really are not fireblight resistant in my opinion. As your aware I grow quince on pear ( kieffer specifically). That’s not to say I don’t use bartlett rootstock sometimes and it is FB susceptible but I graft things like Potomac to that type of rootstock. Right rootstock for the right scion if you know what I mean. I would not graft forelle or abate fetel to a quince even with a FB resistant interstem. I don’t grow quince myself but many forum members do. I can tell you callery are my favorite euro rootstocks overall but I’m a patient man.
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Derby,
You might be wondering why I don’t use quince aside from fireblight and that’s because quince does not do well in my alkaline soil. I realized I didn’t mention it. You might want to look at this link regarding what your wanting to do Quince as Pear Rootstock - Fruit & Nut Research & Information Center. I grow all types of rootstocks but not quince. In the right place they are one of the best.
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It is not the best tasting pear to many people but because of it’s disease resistance, being a good pollinator, and reliable fruiting it is high on my list of good pears. I have several more pears that are rated high that haven’t fruited yet so these might push ahead of Kieffer going forward. Bill
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Many long gone old houses in my area still has the old Kieffers going strong. Most years they will be loaded with fruit even in their neglected environment.
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If it wasn’t for fruit quality I wouldn’t grow anything else.
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