Actually I’m in zone 8a and in a frost pocket. We are considered coastal cool so our heat units may not be much different from yours. Summer night time temperatures are usually in the 50s but some days can be miserably hot but usually just for a day of so then back to high 70s and 80s. Morning temperatures this past week have been in the low 30s with one morning 29.
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@clarkinks Have you tried Hosui? That one has a butterscotch-like flavor when it turns golden brown and is sugar sweet. Shinsui had a somewhat similar flavor and the texture is better than Chojuro in my opinion.
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Our New England summer does not get very hot. When temp hits 90 or over for 3 days in a row, we call it a “ heat wave”. It happens only a couple of times a summer.
Although Clark and I are both in zone 6, his midwest spring and summer are hotter and for a longer time period, too. I’ve noticed that fruit in the midwest ripen 1-2 weeks ahead of us in New England.
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Hosui never has reached it’s full flavor for me though many say it’s great. To many people tell me it’s good for me to not believe it’s good. Hosui in my experience are blan with sand paper like skin at my farm. Most pears overall grow good for me. My location like every location has a few pears that don’t grow as well as i.like.
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@mayhaw9999
Please document as much information about it as you can. It’s mentioned many times but not much is documented The pears you may not have heard of and should consider growing - #161 by yri32
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There’s more info on Josephine de Malines in this thread from a couple years ago - maybe @BobVance or @scottfsmith have an update?
@mayhaw9999: I’ve read that J de M can be a weak-growing tree - has that been your experience?
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I wasn’t a fan of Asian pears until I grew and picked my own Korean Giant. It was much better tasting than the ones from the grocery stores.
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Every site is different but as I grow Josephine de Malines, the “this variety should not be picked until the leaves fall” quote from ARS does not apply here. I have it grafted on two trees - scions from Corvallis. One graft is now 10 years old, is growing well and producing beautiful fruit but I have to pick the fruit in early Oct. They will start dropping soon thereafter and not ripen properly. The fruit go into my dedicated pear refrigerator set in the low 30s. I don’t get around to eating them until Dec. They will usually ripen in a few days. Later, in Jan. I can take them out of the refer, peel, and put them directly into the morning cereal or oats. The second was grafted in 2018 on a 3-year-old calleryana seedling along with 6 other varieties. It is by far the weakest growing variety of the 7 and had its first fruit in 2020. I finally planted a single variety tree yesterday…
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It would be interesting to compare maturity dates for various cultivars. USDA zones are not very good here due to the many microclimates. I think I’m really considered 8b rather than 8a. Anyway, I’m about 4 degrees colder on any given winter night than the official Santa Rosa temperature. I have friends about a 10 minute drive from here that rarely get below freezing - my low this winter was 24 in Jan.
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So ‘Shinsui’ has a butterscotch like flavor? How strong is that flavor?
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I went out to check my JdM graft. Judging from the size of the growth, it will be around 2035 before I could start hoping for fruit.
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@alanmercieca The flavor was very noticeable but I only got 1 fruit off a 2nd year tree to try last year. It has more flowers this year so I’ll be sure to update my opinions if the fruit hold.
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Carrick is not ripe yet. It has a nice red blush to it. Today August 21st it was still hard as a rock.
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The hybrids Daisui Li and Shin Li are very good.
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Also I have read that Daisui Li has a very long storage time. Still waiting for my 2016 graft to fruit.
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It really has to do with the rootstock. I grafted Daisui li on two different pear tree three years ago. One fruited last year (and this year). One still no sign of blooming.
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Shin Li, its sister, definitely has a very long storage time. I’ve kept them in the fridge into March, and they are still very crispy. I honestly think it got more flavorful while in storage.
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If I were younger I certainly would buy all of them, Clark and thanks for posting, what an effort and time, thanks.
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How’s that one doing for you? Nobody ever talks about “Gourmet,” but it does sound like a promising pear. Maybe it gets overlooked because of the rather generic name? Anyway, I’ve got some scions on order. Also noticed that Fedco is offering it this year.
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Has Richard Peters fruited yet for you Clark?
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