Found Shinko Asian pear at Kroger for $20 is it worth growing in Kentucky and is it self pollinating?
2 Likes
For what itās worth, Iāve had one in ground in Rockcastle County for a few years. No fruit yetābut thatās not its fault; itās the late freezes. Despite the uncooperative Kentucky weather, it shows signs of precocity: it just loves making spurs. It might just be my particular growing conditions, but itās the smallest, slowest growing Asian pear weāve gotāand this does jibe with this South Carolina study which found it āthe least vigorousā of seven cultivars trialed in that state on P. betulifolia stock (mine, if Iām remembering aright, is on OHXF 87). Along with āOlympicā/āLarge Korean,ā it has a reputation as being one of the most fire blight-resistant Asian cultivars; Iāve yet to see a strike on mine. (It was the most resistant cultivar in the SC study.)
No pear, as far as Iām aware, is strongly self-fertileā¦ Any pear (with non-sterile pollen) that blooms at the same time should pollinate it. Orange Pippin Fruit Trees lists many (but by no means all, as their pollination compatibility lists are limited to their catalog) compatible pollenizers here. Even nearby ornamental callery pears, if bloom time overlaps, should do the trick.
4 Likes
Iāve had it for years, down here in Hoptown; one of the first Asian pears that I planted 25 yrs ago.
Iād lost it to the tennis court we put in in the early 2000s, but a friend sent me a replacement on Callery rootstock - from scions Iād sent him a year or two earlierā¦ has grown like a rocket, on callery - was slower growing on the original Harbin pear understock.
Big, tasty pears, Latest-ripening Asian pear that I have, very productive. For 20 bucksā¦ you canāt hardly go wrong with it. Self-pollinatingā¦ IDKā¦ but I have numerous other pears. You could always graft in a branch or two of a suitable pollenizer, if you only have room for one.
3 Likes
I like it. There is some information about my experiences with it at the end of this thread.
1 Like
Shinko has a strong flavor- more intense than most. A light brown skin- not a very large fruit, but I like it.
1 Like
Thanks for the responses for a six foot tree for $20 bucks I think Iām going to give it a go.
1 Like
Shinko is the largest-fruited Asian Pear I have grown - except for Korean Giant, which never set more than one or two fruits per yearā¦ so those would be huge, juicy, flavorless thingsā¦ like eating a raw watery potato. Iād guess that most of my Shinko pears last year averaged no less than 4" diameterā¦ some larger.
2 Likes
I think theyāre fantastic. One of the only Asian pears Iāve eaten & off a tree at Red Fern Farm in Wapello, Iowa. Here I am holding (3) of them. My hand is 7" long and skinny fingers, not a large hand.
3 Likes
recommended in this Kentucky guide
2 Likes
ŠŃŠµŠ¼ ŠæŃŠøŠ²ŠµŃ! ŠŃŠ¾Š±ŃŃ Š·Š“ŠµŃŃ Š²ŠæŠµŃŠ²ŃŠµ Š½Š°ŠæŠøŃŠ°ŃŃ! ŠŃŠµŠ¼ Š“Š¾Š±ŃŠ° Šø Š¼ŠøŃŠ°!