Hosui pears nearly there. The ones up top that look more brown are Korean Giant.
Whole lotta Bartlett pears. I hope they don’t ripen for a few weeks so I can catch up on the other pears.
18 Likes
I tasted several yesterday that had ripened a few more days;
Buttirra Rosata Morittini - Very good to excellent
Souvenir du Congress - Very good
Carrick - Good not quite ripe
Chapin - still just fair
Here are the pears picked yesterday 8/14/2023
Rousselet of Stuttgart x Dr. Jules Guyot Hybrid V
This is one of the five selections from Russia. Hybrid VII was released as Valvilov. Unfortunately, that variety succumbed to fire blight in 2022 dying back to the calleryana graft. This fruit is very similar to the hybrid VII. Here is what Joseph Postman wrote in his Curator’s Choice notes.
“Rousselet of Stuttgart x Dr. Jules Guyot No. VII = PI 337446 (CPYR 499.001) - Pyrus communis
Attractive rainbow-trout colored, crunchy pear that ripens nicely on the tree. Five selections of the
cross Rousselet Shtutgartskii x Dr. J. Gujo were received in 1968 from the USSR Vavilov Institute in
Leningrad. All five selections have crunchy, attractive, pyriform shaped fruit that ripen in August and
September. Selection VII is the most attractive, with red blushed and speckled fruit similar in coloring to Forelle. Tree is disease resistant and cold hardy.”
Nye Russet Bartlett
Originated as a sport of Bartlett in the S.A. Nye orchard at Talent, Oregon, about 1937. Fruit similar to Bartlett in form but appears a little smaller in size. Skin deep yellow, overlaid with a smooth ‘cinnamon’ russet, very attractive for a russet sort. Flesh generally like that of Bartlett but somewhat firmer at maturity. Flavor sweeter and somewhat more spicy than that of Bartlett, rate among the very best in dessert quality. Keeps somewhat longer than Bartlett in cold storage
Bergamotte Esperen
Raised from seed about 1830 by Major Espdren, Mechlin, Bel. Of his many pears this was the most valuable. It is a most delicious late pear and a good successor to Winter Nelis.
Scions of this pear were received from the Corvallis Repository in 2020 - obviously mislabeled! I had it in my database to pick in mid to late October here and was surprised to see fruit turning color and falling.
Canal
Originated in Medford, Oregon, by Frank C. Reimer. Introduced in 1974. Fruit: most nearly resembles Comice; skin yellow ground color with bright red blush, attractive; flesh smooth, melting, sweet, quality excellent; a dessert variety.
I have one limb grafted to Canal in 2014. This is the first fruit of this graft. Has anyone else grown it and found that it takes so long to produce?
Stuttgarter Geislhirtle
Raintree Nursery sells it. A small pear that I love to munch on in the orchard. Just a few bites of sweet crunchy goodness. They only last a few days so eat them while fresh. Also, thin heavily to have larger fruit.
That’s all for today. Stay tuned.
16 Likes
The trees look great. Where are you located?
1 Like
Thanks. I live in eastern PA, outside Philly.
1 Like
Amazing! Those are huge pears. How do you like them? I bought a tree this year.
1 Like
I only have one limb of Aurora as we really don’t need very many early pears. The family prefers peaches, plums and pluots this time of year. Once the stone fruit is gone then pears take top billing. Aurora had a heavy crop of lovely fruit last year and I guess it decided to rest in 2023 although the tree it is grafted onto has a good crop.
1 Like
Your Asian pears are so clean. My Asian pears are a bug magnet, even with pesticide. Not much of an issue with Euro pears.
1 Like
Tippy, Hosui and Chojuro are very immune to bug puncture while they develop here. This isn’t so true for my Drippin Honey and Shinsui. Seems plum curculio and stink bugs like pecking them. Korean Giant isn’t appealing to the kinds of bugs we have either.
3 Likes
My Hosui and Korean Giants are no match to Tarnished Plant bugs. Those buggers misshaped/damaged a lot of the Hosui and KG.
1 Like
Codling moth is my worst insect pest for pears but not as bad on the Asians. Birds are the largest problem. Shinseiki is getting close to ripe. Hosui is not far off.
3 Likes
We mostly have Oriental fruit moth here. They only infest the fruit that are close to ripe, so I spray spinosad or BT when they start to mature. Birds are a big problem with thin skinned varieties like Shinsui and Drippin Honey. I bought a hawk kite this year that does a good job scaring away everything.
7 Likes
Here’s a Kosui. It had a simple sweetness like that of cane sugar. I didn’t think it was as flavorful as the Shinsui, Hosui, and Chojuro I’ve been eating. Maybe it’ll improve with age.
8 Likes
Vavilov was a bust here in Md. Brittle wood, stunted growth, so I grafted it over to Harrow Sweet.
1 Like
That’s a great cultivar!
2 Likes
Yes! I’m glad I had nearly 100 to eat this year. The birds and Green June beetles unfortunately love it too.
3 Likes
How old are your trees? Someday, I hoping my trees can produce over 100 pears in a season.
1 Like
The fruit of Hybrid V is quite good directly off the tree but I only have a graft on a multigrafted tree. As I said, Vavilov blighted back to the calleryana rootstock last year and I no longer have it.
1 Like