Tyson is blooming this year finally but do not expect it to bloom fast. 6 years+ is normal even on a dwarfing rootstock like 333. I used a unique callery pear im testing with to get blooms and hopefully fruit faster.
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Thanks for the warning. I am in year 3 I think.
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Our Tyson took 7 years, but it was worth the wait. Glad we planted it in 2004.
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For the fun of it, I grafted one of the Comice scionwood on a Tyson tree. I will be in my retirement before they both fruit.
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Nice!
Out of the pears I grafted my first year out, Tyson was the only one that survived (barely), and in spite of several setbacks (most recently getting munched by rabbits), it’s still hanging in there. If I ever see blossoms on mine, it will be a happy day!
By the way, Clark, am I right in remembering that you were giving St. Andre a trial? Curious if you have any news - that’s one that looks intriguing to me.
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Saint Andre was on my list but I do not believe the grafts exist now. That may be part of the orchard that had damage from storms. I.will look for it again out there What Pears will you grow this year? . There have been times I graft a variety multiple times and don’t wind up with a single tree. This happened twice with Napoleon.
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Buerre Giffard is our favorite pear of those we grow. First pear of the season, productive most years, and deliciously sweet.
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The Beurre on Beurre Gifford means butter so they named it a buttery tasting pear. That’s always a nice thing to call a pear. In this discussion i mentioned this as one of the things i watch for on high quality French pears Very thankful for ARS GRIN programs! A plethora of pears & apples! - #65 by alanmercieca
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Glad to know. I love melting, smooth pears. That will be something I will look forvscionwood next year.
just grafted Buerre Superfin as I heard good things about it.
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I grafted Beurre Superfin two years ago, I think. Good to know that you’ve heard good things about it. We now have:
Beurre Superfin
Clara Frijs
Dana Hovey
Des Urbanistes
Harrow Sweet
Harvest Queen
Honeysweet
Korean Giant
Magness
Tyson
Winter Nelis
And this year I grafted Louise Bonne de Jersey, Cabot of Vermont, and Beurre Clairgeau (which I had actually gotten mixed up with Beurre Giffard, but oh well). I’ll have rootstock ready for a few more next year, so I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread…
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I based my pear selection on the varieties I enjoy eating and what @scottfsmith has recommended.
I don’t have a few varieties on your list. My list includes Docteur Desportes, Fondante de Moulin-Lille, Aurora, Potomac, Abbe Fetel, Seckel and Comice.
I have grafted too many Asian pears.
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Bosc is actually Beurre Bosc It’s just typically not called by It’s proper name. The same as Beurré d’Anjou. The best varities did not come from a University they came from Jean Baptiste Van Mons many years ago who lived 11 November 1765 [Brussels] 6 September 1842 [Leuven] . To this day his work cannot be duplicated. Typically for sale we have anjou, bosc and Williams aka Bartlett pears in the grocery store. Modern pear breeders have yet to match the old pear breeders results. For more about Van Mons see this Jean-Baptiste Van Mons - Wikipedia . Many are under the impression it takes selective crosses to breed good pears but actually he planted lots of pears. To produce exceptional pears planting acres and acres and many thousands of different genetically diverse seeds is what it takes. I believe universities have added value to pear breeding. The pear harrow sweet and others from the harrow experimental station are proof of good breeding but the problem is the work is unfinished. We need a harrow sweet the size of d’Anjou. Williams’ bon chrétien aka bartlett was not bred at the university either. The origins of this variety are uncertain. “Bon Chrétien” (Good Christian) is named after Francis of Paola, a holy man whom King Louis XI of France had called to his deathbed as a healer in 1483. Francis offered the king a pear seed from his native Calabria with instructions to plant and care. Hence the pear tree was called “Good Christian”. The Williams pear is thought to date from 1765 to 1770 from the yard of an Aldermaston, England, schoolmaster named Mr. John Stair giving rise to the now-obscure synonyms ‘Aldermaston’ pear and ‘Stairs’ pear. A nurseryman named Williams later acquired the variety, and after introducing it to the rest of England, the pear became known as the Williams Pear. However, the pear’s full name is Williams’ Bon Chretien, or "Williams’ good Christian.
In 1799 James Carter imported several Williams trees into the United States, and they were planted on the grounds of Thomas Brewer in Roxbury, [Massachusetts]. The Massachusetts estate was later acquired by Enoch Bartlett of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Unaware of their origin, Bartlett named the pears after himself and introduced the variety into the United States. It was not realised that Bartlett and Williams Pears were the same until 1828, when new trees arrived from Europe By that time the Bartlett variety had become vastly popular in the United States, and they are still generally known as Bartlett pears in the US and Canada,
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My pear picks have been partly things that I’ve seen people here recommend and partly things that I just decided to take a flyer on.
I think I grafted Potomac my first year doing this but it didn’t make it. Might try that one again - we like Anjou in terms of the pears we can get at the grocery store, and my understanding is that Potomac is similar in taste but easier to grow.
I decided to go with Magness over Comice thinking again that it would be easier to grow here. (Waffled between that and Warren.) I hope to track down Fondante de Moulin-Lille at some point.
When you say that you grafted too many Asian pears, do you mean that they haven’t done as well in our New England climate? I am generally less into Asian pears myself, though I’ve only had them from grocery stores, but I thought I’d include one for variety (and I think I remember you and others recommending Korean Giant).
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Having found every Asian pear I’ve sampled to be rather flavorless, I decided not to plant any.
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I meant I have only 3 Asian pear trees but put too many grafts on those trees.
@Lodidian - if you grow up with Euro pears, you may not care for crunchy, juicy, so what sweet Asian pears. Their taste are straight up, not complex. I love my Asian pears esp. Korean Giant. Once all my A pears fruited, I may get rid of several and keep only ones I like.
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My guess was that your idea of too many grafts was different from mine.
I have tried to like them. Thinking maybe it was only store-bought Asian pears that were without flavor, a few years ago I did sample some grown by a friend. We did a swap at the end of farmers market. I don’t remember the variety, but to my tastebuds there was still only a hint of flavor. Maybe it is me, although my wife doesn’t much like them either.
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@Lodidian
Try chojuro it’s exceptional with a strong flavor of butterscotch. @39thparallel and i ate 4 or 5 one year each trying to pinpoint the taste. The fruit was heavily damaged with lumps all over it but it was delicious. Drippin Honey is very good as well. Korean Giant when it does not run out of season can be good as well. To me a pear like ya li is not meant to have those flavors it’s crisp, light, and refreshing but not overly sweet, and there are as mentioned no complex flavors. I like to eat ice to in the summer but it is flavorless. There is some personal preferences that are not shared with others in terms of taste or texture of food. Pears like ya li are not likely going to be popular with most Americans. Some things are an acquired taste.
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I’ll look for it.
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I was looking at Winter Nellis as another classic late pear. Does anyone have it that can give it a thumbs up?
The old varieties are still the best with a few exceptions. Imo
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My wife’s grandfather had Winter Nellis in his back yard. The tree was seriously decayed and nearly dead 2 years ago. I got 2 grafts onto Callery rootstock last year and have them growing. The original tree has had a bit of care since last year and has a few fruit set. I hope to try it later this year. Winter Nellis needs to be stored at least 3 or 4 weeks to mellow before eating.
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