Clark,
You have made me green with envy!!!My potomac tree is too young.
I like this pear. It is smooth (no grit), sweet and tasty. The large size adds to its attarction.
4 Likes
Mine finally started bearing a decent amount this year. They are good as described, and nice large fruit. And the tree is perfectly healthy; never been sprayed and ~8 years in ground. I picked them a bit early and they counter ripened fine.
For me it has been both more vigorous and less precocious than my Harrow Delight and Harrow Sweet on the same rootstock.
3 Likes
When did your riprn, please?
Glad to hear that it does not need refrigeration to ripen properly.
Mine is only 2nd year on OHxF 87. Not sure if I’ll see any flower buds in 2021. Hopefully, it will fruit in 2022.
3 Likes
I picked mine last year in early September in zone 6b/7a.
2 Likes
So, I will be about 2-3 weeks behind you. Thanks.
1 Like
Mine were literally blown off the tree last year! They were big beautiful perfect pears.
1 Like
Clark,
Hope you have better luck this year. I am confident you will love this pear.
2 Likes
My first Potomac pears this year are taste winners for me. Make me wonder why I even grow apples. Seriously. Good when crisp and exceptional when deep yellow and juicy. Rich, complex taste but not cloying. Highly recommend.
8 Likes
Good to know, thanks! I haven’t had any flowers yet after 5 leafs, hopefully next year is the first crop
1 Like
I planted my Potomac Pear tree in Fall of 2016. It has grown well and is now a good sized tree but hasn’t produced fruit yet (or flowered). Is this unusual for this variety I wonder? I have a Magness about 15 feet away (planted the same time) that also has not fruited.
2 Likes
I planted mine March of 2017. It never had a single flower until this spring, and a couple dozen pears were developing until squirrels took them out
2 Likes
That is encouraging. Maybe next year will be my year. Both of my pear trees were hammered by cicadas this Spring unfortunately which might affect my chances for next Spring.
1 Like
@SteveMD Have you pulled any branches to horizontal with soft twine or rope? It’s magic- speeds up fruiting by a year or two. It changes the hormone flow by reducing the fruit spur inhibitor, if that makes sense. Vertical branches make wood. Horizontal branches make fruit. Edit: and I should add: 45 degree branches make both wood and fruit. Generally speaking.
6 Likes
No, but someone else very recently mentioned that to me. He didn’t explain the science behind it though so thanks for that! I’ll definitely give it a try next Spring.
4 Likes
Just this week I continued pulling branches down, not too late this year to get a head start on next year- assuming your branches are still flexible.
3 Likes
Yes, after I replied to your comment I got to thinking that there is no reason why I can’t do this right away. I’ll start working on it tonight. Cheers!
5 Likes
I apologize, I planted the Potomac in March 2016.
2 Likes
My Potomac is a small dwarf tree but once again loaded with a crop of 30+ pears.
3 Likes
Mine is…not a dwarf. Now ~15’ tall and I keep lopping the top off each year. It started yielding early this year – I filled a 5-gallon bucket about 2/3 full twice on Aug 27 just selecting the biggest ripest ones and the ones succumbing to insect or rust hits; maybe half the fruit is now softening indoors. I expect more than a hundred pears by the end of harvest. The limbs are bending almost to the ground; I’ll have to prune it hard this winter.
All my pear trees had huge yields this year. I think a new fox family raising some very healthy squirrel-fed kits in our neighborhood may have been related…
3 Likes
And Steve – my Harrow trees and Moonglow started yielding several years before my Potomac. But the Potomac rewarded my patience with building up a stronger limb structure first; my Harrows have been regularly snapping branches under their precocious fruit load, so the Potomac is now a more reliable harvest and a better looking tree.
2 Likes