Here’s a recently-harvested fruit from a Peggy Pear, a bud sport of A-ri-rang, which seems to be only carried by Stark Bros. at present. It is little talked about, so thought I’d post this.
This is from my mom’s tree, and it’s been in the ground for a few years. It started blooming slightly before Large Korean this year, but lost most of its bloom to a late freeze. It did bear the above single fruit—its first. It was crisp, moderately sweet, juicy, with just a touch of acidity—very pleasant eating! Some grit cells, but not too bad—and no one here is much bothered by pear grit, anyway. Seems to have similar disease-resistance to its parent, with only very minor fireblight strikes so far and no other issues to speak of. Good, straight, sturdy growth habit, reminiscent of Large Korean. It does indeed ripen before Large Korean/Olympic/A-Ri-Rang—ours are coloring up but are not quite there—and has a noticeably different skin, being golden and rough-textured.
What do you think of Peggy? Please share your experiences and impressions!
Well, that may not bode well for the one here, long-term. It’s done well so far, but that could be dumb luck—or (with better luck) maybe a difference in the dominant strain of the bacteria in our regions. I figured you had probably grown it, Clark, and was hoping you’d chime in; I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out, though.
Yes every pear they sent me had firelight which was a large number. I did not ask for a refund but have not ordered more pears from Starks since then. I’ve ordered other things from them before without any problems. If I was starting out it would be different but my orchard is large now and I just can’t take the chance. Fireblight is not terrible. My biggest concerns are things like Spotted lanternfly. Spotted Lanternfly | National Invasive Species Information Center
Howdy, folks. Haven’t been on here in a little while, but thought I should pop in with a quick Peggy update—since a lot of folks are interested in Asian pears here and there isn’t a ton of information regarding Peggy.
Very nice crop this year, which started ripening around mid-September—maybe a week or so later than before, possibly because of our unusually cool June.
Quality was excellent. Not as sugary as Large Korean or Raja, but amply sweet—and with just a touch of acidity to enhance the sugar. They are crisp-textured and juicy. Small, very ripe (overripe?) specimens sometimes have strong notes of brandy.
The tree continues to be healthy. No fire blight, no leaf spot.
The patent notes that these keep well in storage, but that probably means climate-controlled refrigeration. We put a bunch in the fridge and are still eating on them, but after about 1.5 or so months, some of them start to get a little soft. Still, not bad for a late summer fruit. Probably would keep better if I put a wet towel or something in there for humidity. They still taste great, though.
