I’d like to plant some pear trees, and in particular would like a Seckel pear. From what I’ve read, it either is or isn’t self-pollinating, but most info seems to lean towards it either requiring or doing much better with a pollinator. Looking around, I’ve sort of decided upon either a Warren or a Maxine (Starking delicious), as there are hints that these may work well with a Seckel. I guess my question is, if you are going to plant only two trees and one is a Seckel, what should the other one be for best pollination and taste (leaning towards sweet, buttery, no grit, etc). This would be for Nashville, TN. I’d certainly take any input on rootstock or best places to buy from as well. Thanks!
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I have a Seckel and an asian pear (yoinashi). I get good fruit set (though I don’t know if they are compatible). My assumption is that the ubiquitous Bradford pears planted all over pretty much blanket the whole town in a haze of pear pollen.
Scott
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Any pears that have overlapping bloom time should work. I don’t recommend Warren just because it takes a very long time to fruit.
Magness would ge a better choice. I also like Ayers and Harrow Sweet, both are very productive and fits what you like in pears.
Other more experienced pear growers could help you with more selections.
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Does Magness produce more quickly than Warren? I’m also considering a Maxine, which I think may have slightly lower “quality” fruit but may produce much better/sooner. Some of the nurseries I’ve spoken to are skeptical of Harrow Sweet doing well in Middle Tennessee, but I don’t know if that’s simply from lack of experience with them. I’m open to all input from more experienced pear growers, thanks!
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I wonder whether another dessert pear would be a good choice, and if so, and if you want another small pear, consider White Doyenne and Dana’s Hovey. Really excellent eating quality, not great keepers. Don’t know how they would fare that far south, though.
I guess another concern about planting Magness is that, if the goal is for the second tree to help pollinate the Seckel, I’ve read that Magness is pollen-sterile and can’t be used for that purpose. Any thoughts? I would like the second tree to help pollinate the Seckel…so maybe Magness is out?
Yes, Magness is not a good pollinizer.
@Auburn is in the south and grow Harrow Sweet successfully.
Ayers is a good pear and productive.
@scottfsmith is in zone 7, he is very experienced and has grown many, many peears. I have followed many of his recommendations about pears and other fruit.
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I always heard (not sure if true) that Bartlett and seckel will not cross-pollinate each other? If true, just posting this so nobody plants one of each of these varieties and then wonders why they are getting no/little fruit production.
Getting good pollination/fruit set of pears has been difficult for me to understand. This year the weather appeared to be great for Harrow Sweet and Korean Giant. I ended up with a set on HS and only a few on KG. My best advice is to graft in several varieties and observe their bloom dates.
Many people say Seckel will not pollinate Bartlett (no problem in the opposite direction though). Is it true? You never know for sure with these things, sometimes it is just a rumor mill. I don’t think Seckel ever has pollination problems though.
Magness takes a long time to bear and has sterile pollen. But it is one of the best-tasting pears you will find.
Harrow Sweet always sets like crazy. I didn’t thin enough last year and got garbage pears. I’ll be thinning it very heavily soon. I have also had inconsistent set on my KG.
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I think my current plan is as follows:
Tree 1: Seckel
Tree 2: Maxine
Future Tree 3: Magness
I guess I could be convinced to change out the Maxine for a Harrow Sweet, I don’t have a good sense for the differences and which would do better here and in this context.
I grafted Magness and Warren on my Blake’s Pride in 2015. Magness started to fruit in 2018, fruited again in 2019 and I see flowers this year, too.
Warren, after 5 years, still all leaves, not a single flower cluster. It has a reputation for taking a long time to fruit.
I have Maxine. and several other pears bear fruit the 3rd year after grafting.
I do not know what have cross pollinated my Magness. I have several Euro pears grafted next to it.
My Harrow Sweet usually set well except for the last year when it rained like crazy the whole time pears were blooming.
My Korean Giant set well if I thinned off fruitlets aggressively the previous year. I let too many pears on in 2018. Last year, 2019, the fruit load was noticeably light. This year, it has load of flowers everywhere. I need to remind myself to thin, thin, thin and thin some more.
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Stark Bros recommendations for Seckel are: Starking Delicious, Moonglow, Anjou, and Colette. I’d recommend against Colette in TN as it’s a re-bloomer and may be a source of Fireblight. The Book of Pears notes Seckel bloom as particularly attractive and “mid” season.
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I use Warren as the basis variety for my multigraft pear trees because of Warren’s fireblight resistance. This year we had very wet spring and Warren had zero FB strikes, while Korean Giant had quite a few. I grafted Warren on OHxF 87 rootstocks and planted them in the ground two years ago, in March 2018. This year they bloomed like crazy and set a good amount of fruit. I grafted 7 varieties on one of the Warren trees and 11 varieties on the other.
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I know we already spoke but for others reading this here is a thread that has the pears we are talking about in it Here comes the 2019 pear harvest!. This is warren Is it worth it to grow the Warren pear
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@Stan,
It is nice to hear that Warren has produced quickly for you.
I grafted Warren, Magness and Fondante on Blake’s Pride in 2015. Blake’s Pride is on OHxF 97.
Magness and Fondante fruited in 2018, 2019 and likely this year.
I grafted other 7-8 pear varieties in 2016 and 2017 on this same Blake’s Pride. Some flowered and set fruit last year. All have flowers this year. Still, nothing from Warren. That’s why in my yard, Warren is a long wait.
Like your Warren, Blake Pride is disease resistant. Unlike your Warren, BP does not taste good. I use it as a mother tree. I think it has 11-12 varieties on it so far.
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Think chills was right. If you live in a subdivision you are likely to have more pear pollen than you want. If you want another pear I would focus on the quicker fruiting varieties. Pears can take quite a long time to fruit.
In my experience Seckel will self pollinate and so does Ayers .
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Good to hear Ayers will self-pollinate. I’m actually a bit confused on this subject as most sources of Ayers refer to it as being self fertile (but producing more with a pollinator), but the place I just purchased a tree from, Raintree, says not to count on Ayers being self-fertile in Nashville, TN (where I am). Raintree says it requires a pollinator except in very southern regions (CA) where it is self-fertile. But most of what I’ve read here and on websites that sell it indicate it is generally considered self-fertile. Can anyone provide some clarity? Thanks for the help!
Got an Ayers on OHxF 87 and a Morris plum on the way for next season, and will probably try a Yumm Yumm Nectarine as well to see what happens. Very excited!