These are the pears I decided to graft so far for 2017. I’m still undecided on apples. Wanted to post this list because these are all fire blight resistant pears. Pears such as Farmingdale may lack commercial potential but I may find advantages to growing them on a small scale. There is a distinct possibility I will use farmingdale for breeding and interstems long term.
Spalding
Morgan
Pineapple
Carrick
Ya Li
Ayer not Ayers
Duchesse Bronzee
Duchesse d’Angouleme Bronzee
Farmingdale
Hoskins
Sucre Verte
Dabney
Hood
Mac
Mericourt
El Dorado
Richard Peters
Tenn
Referring to this post Pear tree Fireblight research so you dont have to I’m continuing to add fire blight resistant varieties. ARS GRIN cancelled orders for research last year due to a virus as many of you are aware. Many of these pears were on my list for last year. I’m working on coming up with several exceptional pears that can be grown long term in my orchard here in Kansas.
If you don’t mind me asking, what is the difference between Duchesse Bronzee and Duchesse d’Angeloume Bronzee?
To be perfectly honest I’m not 100 percent sure much about either yet. There are two distinct numbers but not necessarily distinct cultivars.
‘Duchesse d’Angouleme Bronzee’ is said to be “Fruit large, red, blight resistant”. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?1436272.
‘Duchesse Bronzee’ is https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?1436115 and Listed by Hedrick as ‘Duchesse d’Angouleme Bronzee’ and by Ragan as 'Bronz Duchess.’ Found in the garden of M. Weber, Dijon, France and introduced in 1873. Appears to be a sport of Duchesse d’ Angouleme. Resembles Duchesse d’ Angouleme in tree and other characteristics but fruit is russeted and often displays a red blush. Superior to Duchesse d’Angouleme in dessert quality but appears to be somewhat smaller in size. Tree vigorous, productive, true dwarf on quince. Moderately resistant to fire blight. - H. Hartman, Oregon Ag. Experiment Station, 1957
https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?1436115
I’ve had very good luck with Duchesse d’ Angouleme and wanted to try the sport or sports. The pears produced by Duchesse d’ Angouleme are not as good as quality as some are but better than many I’ve tried. The disease resistance, large size, late ripening times etc. makes them very worthwhile to grow.
I am pretty sure those are different names for the same pear. The Russeted version is supposed to taste better from what I have heard.
I look forward to hearing how all those pears work out.
Thank you very much. I was just curious as I heard about the Duchesse d’A Bronzee and it sounded like a good pear to try. Can’t find it anywhere except from Trees of Antiquity on quince.
I wish you good luck and hopefully you’ll have something to report to us in a few years.
Hi Clark, what an awesome assortment of pears you have! This is the first time I have seen El Dorado pear mentioned! Awesome pear, really hard to find over here too. We buy them at an orchard in apple hill every year several times. Because it was so hard to get info on I was starting to believe they were just calling them that and keeping real name secret! Good luck with these, very popular at the orchard I get them at. I bought last of them last Saturday. These pears are also very large, keep well, not much bad to say, my favorite pear but I haven’t tasted near what you have. I will hopefully have a few scions your interested in next year to do a swap! Happy grafting!
The USDA has information on it here:
https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?1436324
Apparently, it’s a long-keeping pear in cold storage-- an intriguing attribute. The report they cite says it can keep as long as the following June in cold storage. That’s insane!
As if I needed another pear to add to my Want List, which I had finally just extinguished.
Thanks Matt, very interesting info there! The orchard I buy from is about 10 miles east of Placerville where it originated. The ones they have are definitely larger and firmer than Bartlett. They sell them green as ripe, but they need to be left out for 5 days to get a yellowish green color and then they are awesome! A firm and juicy pear similar to Bartlett in flavor, but more going on. Better than any pear I have had. It is very hard to bruise too. Truth is I cant even eat a bite when green though. The reasons I want this one so bad is the keeping qualities, disease resistance, size, flavor and texture!
From a combination of trades and purchases:
Claygate Pearmain Apple
Eargmont Russet Apple
Orleans Reinette Apple
Ross Nonpariel Apple
Roxbury Russet Apple
Wheelers Golden Russet Apple
Ashmead’s Kernal Apple
St. edmunds Russet Apple
Autumn Artic Apple
Esopus Spitzenberg Apple
Golden Russet NY Apple
Gray Pearmain Apple
Pitsmaston Pineapple Apple
Northern Spy Apple
Russell’s Russet Apple
Sweet 16 Apple
Hudson’s Golden Gem Apple
Shinseiki Asian Pear
Hosui Asian Pear
Shinko Asian Pear
Tennosui Asian Pear
Yellow Egg Plum
Pearl Plum
Schoolhouse Plum
Autumn Sweet Plum
Black Ice Plum
Count Althann’s Gage Plum
Early Transparent Plum
Alderman Plum
South Dakota Plum
Vermont Plum
Underwood Plum
Pipestone Plum
Waneta Plum
Sugar Pearls Apricot
Sweet Lavender Mulberry
Campbells NC1 Paw Paw
Cresthaven Peach
Coralstar Peach
Harrow Diamond Peach
Black Tartarian Cherry
Balaton Cherry
A few of these are duplicates of what I have, but I like them so much (ex: Shinseiki, Ashmead’s Kernel) that I want to work other trees over to them. On the plus side, I only ordered four actual trees this year. (George IV Peach, Early Purple Guigne Cherry, Oblinaja Plum and another Ashmead’s Kernel Apple).
—> Also, I just remembered I ordered some Cherry and Plum rootstock, (Krymsk 5, Krymsk 1 and Marianna 2624). I’m not even sure what I’m going to do with them.
Not all of these will go on my yard. Three others will have some of these worked onto existing trees. All are apples:
Brownlees Russet
Catshead
Cornish Gilliflower
Court Pendu Rose
Glockenapfel
GoldRush
Harrison
Hewes Crab
Keepsake
Lady
Rhode Island Greening
Saint Edmunds Pippin/Russet
Might be the strongest line up I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying! Thank you to all who worked up swaps with me.
Dave
Every year I say that this is my last big year for grafting and then the next spring I end up grafting more. 
This just may be my last big year for I’m running out of room in the Back40. Here’s my list .
Holstein
Jefferis
Crawley Reinette
Kandil Sinap
Hardy Cumberland
Lamb Abby Pearmain
Spartan
Patul
Old Nonpareil
Margil
Senator
Bakers Delicious
Belle De Boskoop
Sandow
Edelbersdorfer
Crimson Gold (Etter)
Pink Pearl
Black Limbertwig
Rainbow
Senshu
Arkansas Sweet
Crow Egg (northern)
Husk Spice
Mountain Rose
Shennandoah
Razor Russet
Knobbed Russet
Jellyflower Sweet
Michelin
Roxbury
Ribston
Yates
Brown Betty
Honey Gold
Haralson
Tompkins County
Gravenstein
Kerr
Hawaii
Bastian Orange
Fletcher Sweet
Red St. Lawrence
Dayton
Monark
Reasor Green
Also bought a large box of Band-Aid bandages. 
And yes it is an addiction.
It can be play time, as well as an addiction, grin. There is the collectors’ itch, the breeding orchard, umm, I’m sure you can all think of a whole bunch of perfectly good reasons to graft. Me, today I’m snowed in, so play time. I read a paper about buried in arch grafting to get a scion to root over a couple of years, so today, I did one. Just for fun. There is this old tree I’d love to breed from, grin…
Honeycrisp
Elstar
St. Cecelia
Pristine
Lord Lambourne
Jefferis
Ginger Gold
Golden Supreme
Karmijn #2
3 or 4 more if I get lucky
Montmorency
Butirra Precoce Morettini
Aurora
Warren
Summer Blood Birne
+1 pear with luck
Coffee Cake
Marionberry
…what addiction?
An addiction for sure sure!
All are Apples accept the last one is a Pear.
Egremont Russet
orleans reinette
Kidd’s orange red
Wetonka Crab
Black Gilliflower
Pitmastin Pineapple
Transcendent Crab
Otterson Crab
northwest Greening
Cowichan Crab
Columbia Crab
Dasyealyx Crab
Shafer Crab
Keepsake
Hawkeye
Haralson9
Imperial Stayman (late)
Lord Lamborne
Pumpkin Sweet
Priscilla
Weidners Goldreinette
Trailman Crab
Dayton
Blue Pearmain
Slor
Grimes Golden
Gala
Cortland
Calville Blanc D’Hiver
Black Limbertwig
Devonshire Quarrenden
Gravenstein
Scugog
Cornish Gilliflower
Winecrisp
Pixie Crunch
Badsey
Rubenette
Joseph
Honeygold
Hudsons Golden Gem
Whitney Crab
Court Pendu Plat
Golden Russen (AM version)
Prarie Spy
Duchess of Oldenburg
Spartain
Tolman Sweet
Fire Cracker Crab
Freyburg
Liberty
Kalle (Red Clapp Pear)
After 15 years I finally am getting my addiction under control…
Black Ice plum
Harvest Queen pear
Jefferson plum (regraft, wrong variety)
Dr. Mathews (ditto)
Halvin pawpaw
a few jujubes
This is by far my shortest list in 15 years. I’m sure its going to get longer, it always seems to creep up.
I plan to graft some good Mulberries like Oscar and Illinois Everbearing. A few Jujubes and some plums. A few figs to root.
Tony
Shorter list for me this year versus last.
Cherry Cox
Cox orange Pippin
Patricia
Sweet sixteen
Pixie crunch
Red Fuji
Artic Glo
Artic Jay
Glenglo
Rogue Red
Harrow Delight
Toka
Tomcot
Pandy 48
Korai pipac Meggy
And a few other if I have space.
Slowly crafting my two frankentrees. They’re still small, so I can only add a few varieties each year. I’ve been topworking with cleft grafts. currently have 9 varieties on 2 trees.
this year I’m adding
Trailman: an egg sized edible crab. I chose it because it’s quite early, and supposedlymuch better tasting than most early apples. I prefer small apples for fresh eating. perfect snack size.
Roxbury Russet: said to haveawesome russet flavor, good fresh and cooked and it stores extremely well.
Nodhead (AKA Jewett’s Red): described as mild, balanced, but with subtle, nuanced flavor. delicious but not overpowering.
@mousedude, are your frankentrees producing fruit yet? How many of the varieties on each tree are fruiting? I’m considering trying the same.
I plan to try my hand at grafting apples this year, using scion wood from some Mississippi apple trees found by a couple of MS apple hunters. The only named/recognized one of the bunch is the Captain Davis, referenced in Lee Calhoun’s book “Old Southern Apples” and now available from a couple of the heirloom apple nurseries (Century Farms Orchard and Kelly’s Old Timey Apples). The others are apples named for where they were recovered. This will be my little chance at perhaps helping save some old apples.
In addition, if I can find it, I want to get some scion wood from a Victoria Limbertwig and perhaps a Hall to graft. We’ll see.
What I haven’t figured out yet is what I’m going to do with 10-15 grafted trees sitting in pots near the garage. When do you transplant them to the soil?