Im not sure that is FB. It really does not look like it. There is no blackness there. If it was which i dont think it is i would carve it out with a knife.
This is fireblight Fire Blight | Triangle Gardener Magazine
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Yes, thatâs the form Iâm used to seeing. Maybe Iâll carve out or blowtorch what âmayâ be FB on Potomac and see what happens. Thank You!
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Kocide while dormant, right? In addition to cutting/torching or in place of?
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I had 2 Magness pears. One received less morning sun and had multiple strikes last year despite copper, pruning and no fertilizer. It managed to set a few pears but later in summer developed fb on main trunk. We removed it. The other one gets great morning sun and has thrived except for a few easily removed strikes. Warren is proving to be very fb resistant here.
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Same here. Blakes Pride is a dud here.
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@clarkinks Clark you were right- my Potomac did NOT have fire blight but just harmless bark fissures from normal growth plus wind torque on certain branches. Big relief. Had local tree expert inspect today. All clear. Fabulous. He called it âbark enlargingâ or something like that.
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Good news and about what i was suspecting. Fireblight is the first thing we all think of because it is a problem. Potomac is pretty tough!
@clarkinks if you had to choose between Harrow Sweet and Potomac for FB resistance which would you choose? I have a Harrow sweet orderedâŚbut Potomac has my interest and reading through threads Iâm on the fence as to which would perform best. Thanks for any advice
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Considering Patten, Parker or Summer crisp for zone 3b. Are any of these resistant to fireblight?
So there is a pear tree 2 doors down that gets fire blight each year. I have no idea what type pear it is. The FB doesnât kill the tree. It did set fruit this year, so it may be partially self fertile. See photo below.
The good news so far is I have an Asian pear now with 9 additional varieties grafted that sits about 90 feet away and has not shown any signs of FB yet, neither with new growth from the previous years grafts nor this years grafts.
FB tree
My tree
Many pear varieties appear to never get fireblight, but are not resistant. A tree that gets it but recovers without major damage is demonstrating resistance. Keiffer is a known example often hit by fireblight, but never succumbing.
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Has your tree flowered yet? If not watch it very closely for FB when it does.
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No flowers this year.
I thought FB hits new growth in general when itâs on the cooler and wet side weather wise.
I have a smaller 3-on-1 Asian pear in my backyard that has set a few fruit. Went through flowering with no FB. Of course that doesnât mean it wonât get a strike, or in another year.
Firelight usually does not hit a pear tree until at least itâs first bloom, I think that the blooms might have something to do with the fireblight bacteria infecting the tree.
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The FB mainly enters the tree through the flowers then it moves within the tree until it gets to young tender growth that is susceptible to its evil ways. I think it can also directly enter tender growth via wounds from insects, wind damage or hail damage, but I think itâs mainly through the flowers. Thatâs good that your other tree has some fruit and no FB. Keep a close eye on it because it can take a couple of weeks after it enters the flowers to build up enough population to cause visible signs. Iâm picking off lots of infected apple clusters this week that looked fine til now. Fruit is pea to small marble size. If it was me Iâd only let shoot tip flowers open next year on your grafts that way you can cut it way back and not lose the grafts. Then relax a little more on that each year.
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Thanks for the insights.
Even without that neighborâs pear I mentioned, itâs always going to be present where I live. Iâd say the good thing about having 11 varieties on 2 trees is that I will be able to tell which ones do better with the FB.
Hopefully the ones that donât do well donât kill the tree outright.
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If you list your pears readers can comment on blight experiences.
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Shinseiki, Yakumo, Raja, Korean Giant, Pai Li, Ya Li, Shinko, Chojuro, Hosui, 20th Century, Atago.
