Anyone have luck with any pears or apples in central Florida? I’m in Tampa, so even less chill than Orlando.
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I have on Pear in Far N. FLORIDA. I believe it’s a Stark Bros. Breed. 3 years old and fairly leafy a d thick ish but no fruit yet. I had a Bartlett but it died. I have several crabapple and they do just ok. I have a Pink Lady 3 or so years old but no fruit from it yet either. Not much luck with either pear or apple there yet. I keep caring for them and hope to fi d the right mix.
I haven’t tried citrus up there. We’ve had a dozen or more frosts and I’m not up for that much work
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What pears would this group recommend for a 6b hardiness zone? Golden Boy and LeConde are mentioned frequently here, but are rated at hardiness zone 8 or above. If you had space to plant a few pears, what would your top 5 recommendations be for 6b?
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I’d not be looking To JF&E in Florida for pears.
I think you can grow Northern pears in Madison & Yancey counties in NC.
I don’t buy from JF&E anymore due to my hardiness zone. Experience has taught me to graft or order from a more northern nursery despite being in a south eastern state of the US. Below are the pears I currently have planted. Since they haven’t fruited, I can’t rate them on how they perform in my area or their flavor. I, also, have an unknown Asian pear that has a very strong strawberry taste that is delicious. It’s very disease resistant and is loaded with pears. My wife’s family believe this pear was planted by her great grandfather. But no one knows what cultivar it is.
- Hosui
- Kieffer
- Moonglow
- Olton Broussard
- Plumblee Pear
- Shinko
- Warren Pear
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Highly recommend you look at this thread for some ideas on pears you might want to grow Clarkinks 2021 / 2022 recommended pears everyone must have
Southern pears are fantastic for the south but what works great there does not always work great in zone 6. Nothing wrong with the pears you have planted now either. In zone 6b your in a good spot where you get the best of both worlds. It’s not to hot or cold to grow any pears for you.
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I’ve not tried apples in Florida…but one variety is from the Bahamas…so you should be able to find a couple for your location.
Thanks, I’ll take a look. In my environment, I have all the disease issues associated with the humid south and a touch of the coldness associated with the north due to my elevation. I don’t see pear trees in this area. This is because they have a reputation of disease taking them out.
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Did you end up getting it? I added Potomac and Warren last Spring…they’re next to each other. Potomac is doing well and seems happier so far than Warren. 7A Maryland.
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It’s been a great year for pears in my orchard. Both Ayers and Golden Boy have produced very well. Ayers is just about finished, Golden Boy has another week or so of pears I imagine. Both have had good size, been disease free using a minimal spray organic approach, mostly ignored by insects, and good though very different flavors. Ayers has that European pear richness, but the skin is astringent. Golden boy lacks the richness, but tastes like a pear, very juicy, crisp but not hard, and no astringency. Thanks to @alan for his baffle advice, which has allowed me to harvest almost all of them. The raccoons, possums, and squirrels that frequent my orchard seem baffled by the baffles. The only real challenges have been Golden boy wants to grow everything vertically, even though its in full sun, and figuring out when both of them are ripe. Ayers on the left, Golden Boy on the right.
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I also ha’ve a good crop on both of those this year. I second your descriptions. Ayers had some FB even with a spray or two of strep but it progressed so slowly was easy to prune out. Picked Ayers a couple weeks ago. I’ll pick GB this weekend I think.
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GB and ayers have both ripened over a long period. My tentative conclusion about ripening is that GB does best hanging on the tree longer than Ayers, and in fact may be best hanging on the tree as long as possible while Ayers will rot on the tree if not picked.
Do you grow any other pears you definitely recommend?
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Is anyone in Zone 7 picking Potomac or Blakes Pride yet?
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Warren and harrow sweet are very good. Warren is a bit of a rotter. Maybe 20% rotted. I guess I can live with that. I didn’t spray or bag it. I’d guess a couple sprays would knock that rot back. It ripened right around Ayers time for me. Dixie delight is a good Asian type pear with zero rot and zero FB. Very good flavor. On the small side.
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I should mention I sprayed strep on all these but Dixie delight, so I don’t think my FB observations are indicative of susceptibility in a no spray situation
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I’ve been making dried pear slices out of my golden boys. They are out of this world!
Another thing about golden boy is once they start to turn yellow in the fridge they get mealy real fast.
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I still like Bartlett
Are you able to grow bartlett? I hear they succumb to fireblight when they start to flower. I’ve not tried it here because FB is so rampant at my locstion. I guess I’m a lot farther south than you though.
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Bartlett is fine…if I pick it in time before it drops.
Tree and limbs … let’s just say fireblight has not been a big problem for me. Did lose a “Clara Frijs” pear graft to fireblight earlier this month. And I removed a foot or so from one apple that had a blackened stem. Root rot from too much moisture has been my issue this year…that plus birds, squirrels, and cool conditions at pollination time.
Kieffer is the pear if you can’t grow pears, but I’ll ignore it if I have other choices. (I don’t have this variety…but have experience in other people’s yards).
Recently, I have had many personal messages inquiring about southern pears. Please see the valuable information above. Here is a reasonable detailed list. There are many more not on the list we need to add.
Improved kieffer 400 chill hours
Kieffer 350 chill hours
Orient 300 chill hours
Ayers 300-400 chill hours
Warren 600 chill hours
fan-stil 500 chill hours
Pineapple 150 chill hours
leona 400-450 chill hours
Hood 150 chill hours
Flordahome 150-250 chill hours
Baldwin 150 chill hours
Tenn 150-450 chill hours
Maxine pear chill hours not determined
Here is a second opinion, but there may be some overlap Dallas Fruit and Vegetable Grower - Growing Pear Trees in Dallas and Texas
and https://www.texaspecannursery.com/product-category/pears/.
Here is an older thread pears for south
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