Today is April 4th. Many are looking forward to posts about Charles Harris, Leona and other southern pears in the kansas. In addition other rare usda pears are getting close to providing much needed information. Many of these pears i’ve never seen sold. This year and the next few years i should have some unusual posts. Many people are growing pears in Kansas and the surrounding areas based on our research. I will provide as much information as i can for as long as i can as i know the information is critical to the success of the next generation of pear growers. My goal is for pears to take their rightful place as an equal to apples. We have came a long way towards bringing attention to pears again. Kansas orchards are once again producing lots of pears. My goal is for the next generation of pear growers to be 1000x better at it than i ever was. Anyone else growing more pears than ever?
I agree, I think pears are better than apples. Looking like a bumper crop of pears this year as well for me. Keep us updated on the less known varieties you have.
I have a 50 year old tree that I am trying to espalier. I grafted 16 varieties onto it this spring. Yesterday I grafted a variety called ‘Clarks little Yellow Pear’ onto it.
Clarks yellow pear is the small unknown yellow pear i grow. You can see photos of the pear here in this thread Here comes the 2019 pear harvest!
I have a bartlett i planted last year covered in blooms. I will remove those blooms. Bartlett at my location are prone to fireblight.
I am planning on starting a small pear breading trial in the coming years. I am interested in trying to breed red flesh into an Asian pear. I prefer the crisp but my wife prefers the soft, so we grow both. I have only been able to get a hold of Summer Blood for a red fleshed variety. My initial crosses will be with this and Maxie (a hybrid European and Asian variety). The summer blood is still young so no blooms, but here is the Maxie:
Last year it produced 2 pears, though they were small, they were pretty good, I expect that the pears will get a little bigger and better tasting as the tree matures, it is only 3 years old.
That’s a great start to your orchard! The first thing that comes to my mind is how ultra rare red fleshed pears are. So you may be wondering if you did start a red fleshed pear project where can you get scion wood for research once your ready NCGR-Corvallis: Pyrus Catalog . I would suggest we all send this program a small donation to keep them going. Once thing i did and still have is hundreds of rootstocks waiting to be grafted. Once you have enough rootstocks started its easy to obtain the scion wood your look for. As an example here is rootstock for $2.30 per tree Pyrus Old Home x Farmingdale 87 | Willamette Nurseries rootstock clonal seedling fruit tree ornamental seedlings
Maybe you like huge trees and have plenty of room $1.18 each for bet Betulaefolia Pear | Willamette Nurseries rootstock clonal seedling fruit tree ornamental seedlings
Many people exchange a small amount of grafting wood for a different type. You can also find plenty of places eager to sell scion wood for a few dollars per stick. You can graft 3 trees from one stick usually.
@Dudeness If your interested in expanding your orchard and caring for it the resources page is a great place to start first General Fruit Resources .Williamette as an example has many more rootstocks to chose from just spend time getting the right ones for your needs. I prefer callery myself or bet.
There are many other nurseries that sell rootstocks eg.
Pear — CopenHaven Farms
Kosui was everything I hoped.
That is great! You are influencing me to nudge my area designated for persimmons a bit over and reserve spots for at least 8 more pear trees. I also have several rare ones grafted that I havent heard about on this forum or in kansas including Progres, Mac, and P.Slanopadja, but they are supposed to be frost bloom hardy so that is one plus for our climate! 
Maybe in Kansas that is their rightful place, but in parts of the world where both can be readily grown I don’t know if it is ever grown equally to apples. For me, apples are the much more reliable and productive species. Pears are less consistent bearers whose crops themselves can be of inconsistent quality. This year, brix tended to be below acceptable except at sites with driest soil (not my own site- what a waste).
Nevertheless, I applaud your efforts, you proud mother you.
I’ve never been called a proud mother but been called a few things in my life. Pears in my part of Kansas are definately the more reliable crop over apples. There are significant differences between different locations.
@PaulinKansas6b
This is area is great for pears I only regret not planting more. Planning to remedy that regret soon. Could have hundreds of trees but there is always a better pear out there.
I think of all orchard keepers as proud mothers, given the level of nurturing we provide for our trees and how we tend to favor our own and even exaggerate their good qualities- maybe not you, but I sure do (the exaggeration part).
So in Kansas, you don’t want them to stand as equals to apples but as their clear superior, right?
Stayman was discovered in KS, is it the birthplace of any famous pears?
Leavenworth and Lansing are nearly the same town since they run together. It has near perfect climate for apples. Pears like Douglas originated in Douglas County Kansas. Douglas county and Leavenworth are close neibors. I’m not sure Douglas pears are as well known as stayman winesap apples but they are known.
I am the same way always looking to add trees and wishing i had only planted more a few years ago lol! Well I am really going to try to increase the pears as probably my #2 tree behind only hybrid persimmons!