The best Asian Pears

Hi Susu.
I planted it in Spring last year (March 2016) I bought good size tree from
nursery but actually it like the bare root plant in container with soil.

Don’t forget Raja and Daisui Li. I grow both but haven’t tasted the fruit yet.

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My neighbour grew Hayatama but it died before it started fruiting. It seemed to be a good variety, not hardy enough here in zone 4. I have Shinseiki and Kenko. I think Kenko is a creation of Ken Taylor, an orchardist and researcher located in Montreal. My Kenko is very hardy and very healthy…Seems to be blight resistant. I Have not tasted the fruits. Here is a video of Kenko.
Not sure if you guys can get it in USA…?

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So far the ones fruiting for me are chojuro, korean giant, shinko,and shinseiki. I liked shinseiki the best. chojuro and korean giant have stronger flavors, which are interesting. I wonder if I leave my korean giants hang too long in fall as they start going bad inside. Shinko seemed pretty dull, lacking taste or sweetness. None of mine have produced for too long, so with more time, I will see how shinko does.

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The only place I can find that sells Kenko is in Canada, but they do ship to the US -

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Actually Asian pear is the key ingredient in Korean Bulgogi and Kali BBQ sauce/marinade. The best brands advertise there % of pear juice.

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A few update based on this spring:

  • My main Korean Giant has another year of very light flowering. The Shinko next to it, along the same wall, flowered profusely (but makes bland fruit), while the KG only has 5-10 flower clusters on the whole tree.

  • The Korean Giant branch that I have grafted onto 20th Century (in a sunnier spot) is covered with flowers. So, for now, I suspect that it is sun which is an important factor in bloom density, at least for KG.

  • Yaguang Li is very early, both in bloom and growth. While 20th Century is just about to bloom (a bit on the late side, as others are in full bloom), Yaguang Li is finishing bloom and has 3-4" of new growth.

  • I’ve got first bloom for a number of new (to me) Asian Pears:

    • Yaguang Li
    • Mishirazu
    • Jilin
    • Chojuro
    • Shinseiki

The first 3 were grafted from ARS 2 years ago, while the others were grafted last spring.

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There is also Whiffletree. I don’t know if yhey ship to the US too. Greenbarn is Mr. Taylor’s company. The video I posted was made by his step son.

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I don’t know about Green Barn nursery now.

In 2014, there was a thread in the old Gardenweb titled “Got my tree order in…think some were shipped dead” by Konrad, a very respectable forum member from outside Edmonton.

Green Barn, from accounts of the people ordering from that nursery, ripped them off.

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Folks I know in SE IA rate 20th Century as excellent in flavor so long as you don’t allow it to overproduce as it has a tendency to do. So long as it is well-thinned the fruit is large and very flavorful. Looks like I may get my first fruits this year. We’ll see how it performs for me.

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I’m grafting Yakumo this year. I don’t know much about it except that its very early and supposed to be flavorful. We’ll see in a few years.

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I look forward to having some AP in production since buying them at the store is a waste of money. Not only are they expensive ($2 ea?!) but typically flavorless and not very sweet. But homegrown, I know they can be delightful.

(PS - I have have had some pretty tasty Ya Li from asian markets in Houston.)

Mamuang, I agree. No experience with Greenbarn (I don’t trust them for the same reasons you mentionned). I do order from Whiffletree, I got Kenko from there. It seems to be a good one until now.

Here’s a pic. In the background, you can see some 20th Century flowers which are just opening.

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Anyone has experience with Ari-rang Asian pear? Please share. Thank a lot. Vincent

Bob,
Someone had some very good things to say about Yaquang Li. Brady

Developed in: Hebei, China (Comment: old cultivar originated in Beijing, Hebei Province.)

Pedigree: Reimer suspected P. ussuriensis x P. phaeocarpa

When judged by American tastes and standards, the Ya Kuang Li is unquestionably the finest variety of China. It resembles the better American or European pears in tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and quality more closely than any other pear in China. In quality, it is equaled by only one other Oriental pear – the famous Peking Pai Li. It is equal in this respect to our better American varieties, and certainly as good if not better than our Bartlett. It is large, somewhat variable in shape, although usually somewhat quince-shaped. The color is an attractive cinnamon yellow. The calyx is always persistent. The skin is rather thick and slightly rough. The flesh is tender, melting, juicy, creamy white in color, and grit cells not noticeable in eating. excepting around the core. It is aromatic, sweet with slight acidity, sprightly, very agreeable. This variety is grown only in northern China. The fruit is found on the peking market from early October until the first of January, and is one of the three most popular varieties on that market.

Narrative from NCGR-Corvallis Pyrus Catalog “I regard this as the most promising Oriental variety ever introduced into this country. While the variety is good enough to introduce and grow just as it is, it may prove of even greater value for breeding purposes. This variety certainly contains considerable P. ussuriensis blood. It may have derived solely from that species, although it appears to be a hybrid between this and some other species. Judging from this, we should expect it to shoe a high degree of resistance to pear blight, and should prove valuable in breeding new blight resistant varieties. Inoculation experiments have shown that it blights in the young shoots but appears to be very resistant in the older wood. Judging from its parentage, it should also prove valuable in breeding hardy varieties for cold regions. The tree is a vigorous, rather spreading grower.” – F.C. Reimer. 1919. Report of a trip to the Orient to collect and study Oriental pears.

Accession was imported 16-Feb-1918. Oregon, United States by Reimer.

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Definitely keep us updated on this one. I was debating grafting it this past spring as I thought it sounded good.

Scott

Yup- that is the write-up they have on the ARS site and the reason I requested the wood in the first place :slight_smile:

Maybe the ussuriensis heritage is why it breaks dormancy so early. I checked to see what it is and found that it is a wild flowering Asian pear which makes not-so-tasty fruit which is good at killing mites and ticks. From the wikipedia article, crosses of it are tasty and cold hardier than other pears.

Wikipedia:

It is considered the hardiest of all pears. When planted in milder climates, the trees have been known to be killed by freezes after they begin budding.

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20th Century on left, Hosui on right, both just dropped their first fruit of the season.

I have two Kosui, one Drippin’ Honey (cracked), both grafted, and a whole tree of Korean Giant.

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The ya li pears I grafted seem like they are growing good. Anyone not familiar withYa Li should review this wiki about duck pears Pyrus × bretschneideri - Wikipedia . Nashi pears are apparently an interspecific pear hybrid pyrus × bretschneideri. These are different than the round nashi pear and are instead shaped like the tradiomal European pears.

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