Red fleshed pears?

[clarkinks]

It’s possible yours could be mislabeled if the fruit and leaves are not similar in appearance. If the outside of the fruit and leaves look similar never underestimate the weather in changing things like blush or flesh color somewhat. Do you have pictures of yours? Where did it come from? I’ve had several pears mislabeled through the years.

[macmanmatty]

my fruit is similar shape but was green on the outside I only got two that I picked in september so they may have been unripe.

[clarkinks]

Yes if the tree is young it may be to early to know what the fruit will be like yet. I’ve had pears produce several years of junk fruit before producing good pears that are normal taste so yours doing a similar thing is plausible.

[MechAeroAuto]

Thank you for the reply! If you remember the other I would be very interested in it as well. Not to hound you, but where did you source your scion material from? Besides novelty, do you feel the red flesh contributes anything to the pear, similar to the flavoring notes that red fleshed apples have?

[derekamills]

Bloodpeer was the one I could not remember. And different sources, most private, some USDA. And red fleshed pears are not like red fleshed apples in that red fleshed apples have a wide range of flavors and textures. For the most part once red fleshed pears are ripe you only have a few days to do something with them with the exception of Verbelu.

Now this is for our region which is SE Ohio, someone somewhere else might have a different experience.

I pick them early and we mix them with perry pears/

[mrsg47]

There are red fleshed varieties in Italy that are quite good. I will look into them.

[DeepBlueDustin]

Any updates on those Italian Red Fleshed varieties @mrsg47?

[mrsg47]

New-old variety. Two countries I know are bringing it back; back, being the Sanguinole Pear from Italy, now referred to as Cocomerina and is also being sold in Belgium. It is a very, very old mutant pear, that much research has been taken to get them reproduced as they were. It is supposedly tasty, and sweet and crunchy. No melting texture.

[DeepBlueDustin]

Any source here in the US?

[TurtleWax]

Is it meant to be crunchy like an asian pear? Sounds like it would have a lot of commercial appeal.

[mrsg47]

I don’t know, I would think its more like seckel but larger.

[DeepBlueDustin]

I can’t seem to find a single company that sells red-fleshed pears here in the USA. I’ve contacted USDA-ARS and am awaiting news from the “pear curator”, but anyone know of any sources? Worst case, I’ll be talking to Derek (thank god for him) regarding scion wood, but I’d like to see if possible I could skip some years of growth.

[zendog]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen any for sale anywhere either. I do have Rotkottig frau Ostergotland grafted to my Harrow sweet in a few places curtesy of @BobVance. I think this is second leaf since grafting and no flowers yet. I can’t remember if Bob got any fruit from his yet.

Anyway, I see you are in PA, so if you happen to be coming through the Arlington, VA area at any point I’d be happy to cut a piece off for you to use for bud wood. If you have any pears currently growing, maybe budding over the summer will get you a little further along than waiting for scion wood next year. Also, several people have had luck grafting scions in the summer as well, so you could try both.

I’m not sure if this is a variety you are interested in, but happy to share if you want it.

[tjasko]

I’m still not convinced they exist. Think about it: Have you ever seen anybody here post a picture of one? We’ve got cherries of the rio grande, obscure mulberry varieties, and pears galore, but somehow nobody has this very special kind of pear.

Red-fleshed pears are the bigfoot of the fruit world.

[castanea]

Red fleshed pears have been widely reported in Italy and numerous photos exist. The color is mottled rather than solid, like this one -

The Chinese are supposed to be working with the Italian varieties to develop a pear with a more solid red flesh.

[mrsg47]

They are also grown and sold in Belgium.

[BobVance]

I think this is second leaf since grafting and no flowers yet. I can’t remember if Bob got any fruit from his yet.

Buckle yourself in for quite a wait…I grafted it in 2013 and this is the first year it has fruit. And that fruit is a single cluster. I thinned it to 2 (I think) and when I did, I noticed that the tiny fruitlets were red. So, at least I think it’s the right variety. I got the wood from Maple Valley Orchards.

[mamuang]

Bob,
What a rootstock or a pear tree you grafted it on?

[DeepBlueDustin]

I will certainly take you up on that offer Zendog when my farm slows down enough that
I could pay you a visit. Thanks for being so kind, its certainly appreciated when trying to track down these “living legends”.

[BobVance]

What a rootstock or a pear tree you grafted it on?

It is on a Honeysweet on OHxF 333 that I got from Cummins in 2012.