Last year, I took my folks to the HOS All About Fruit Show. My father was so overwhelmed by the selection, he didn't try anything. Afterwords, we went to the Portland Nursery's apple tasting, and he did much better with that do to the organization. At the end of the tasting was four Asian pears, and one of them really caught his attention as being something different from the last 30 some tastings he just had. He can't shake it from his mind - he wants to plant an Asian pear at his place on the Columbia between Longview and Astoria (he is in his early 50s). I've been researching apples and know a little bit about pears, but nothing about Asian pears and I'm kind of realizing he is relying on me a bit on this topic. Does anyone have some advice? What breeds would you plant?
Heather
Taking a test drive before you buy the auto is the way to go. Finding Asian pears to sample at local Asian stores may help determine variety preferences, even though sampling 1 pear trhat is supposed to be (fill in the blank) variety may end up misrepresenting the norm for that variety. If you bi-nanimously agree which one(s) are worth growing as far as eating qualities go........, then finding out about that(those) tree(s) is next. Does it get fire blight? If so, scratch that one and try another. Does it need pollen from another Asian pear? If so, then you should look for 2 complementary Asian pear trees that both grow fruit that you like to eat. How far do you want to look into this? Pick Your Own fruit farms may grow Asian pears for you to learn which varieties they grow and their viewpoints on them. Your local County Extension Agent may have helpful info. Good luck!
20th Century is too productve - takes a ton of thinning. Tsu Li is good , and doesn't need much thinning, but it's rampantly vigorous and there are several similar looking, but different flavored Tsu Li's in circulation. I selected my own variety, Koyama, which is a brown pear with high flavor tht keeps well. The own rooted tree hasn't needed thinning, but some grafted trees are very heavy bearing. making the fruit small.
Fire blight isn't problem in the Willamette Valley.
Here's my 2 cents:
My favorite is Shinseiki. It's yellow, refreshing, light, and still distinctive. My main tree is Chojuro. I like it, just not as much as Shinseiki. It's brown with slightly less pizazz. Don Bae, also known as Korean Giant, is another variety. It's flavor is even less exciting, but it will really make your Asian pear season last much longer. I have Ya Li and 20th century on the same tree, but they haven't fruited yet, so I don't know what they taste like. Asian pears are among the easiest trees to graft, so if you want to improve pollination and fruit set or the length of the season, it's a good way to go. I would also rather have 40 pears each month for 5 months than 200 all in the same month. Remember, most Asian pears store surprisingly well, so if you have too many , put them in the fridge or outbuilding to eat them later.
John S
PDX OR
I have a multi-grafted Asian Pear tree which has Chojuro, Large Korean (Olympic, Korean Giant), and Shinseiki on OHF 513 rootstock. The final height is supposed to be 10'-12' but I keep it a bit shorter with pruning. As John S. says, you can really extend the season by having more than one variety. The Shinseiki is the first one to ripen in September for me and I like its juiciness. Chojuro ripens soon afterwards and I don't seem to always have consistent quality. They tend to get mushy/mealy in storage for me so I end up cooking them with cinnamon, brown sugar, and apple juice and freezing for use later in the winter. Asian Pears have a firm enough texture that they don't really cook down like apples into applesauce, though. The Korean Giant Pears are definitely large (>1 lb) and are the last to ripen. This past summer I'm not sure they ripened as well as other years b/c of the cool summer. I have seen one description say that they can ripen too late in the maritime summer climates so that may be a consideration further north than Portland. I find them to be sometimes almost too large to pack for a lunch but they do keep very well. They are crisp and I think they improve in flavor with storage though that could just be my perception since I don't have other summer fruit available by the time I eat them! I have not had significant pest problems with this tree (yet!) but I use plastic bags when I thin the fruit. Since the Korean Giants are so large, I have split the bottom of the bags otherwise they are too large for the bags. I have had trouble with some fruit splitting but I can't remember if it was mostly Chojuro or the Shinseiki. I have also had some "corky"/dimpled areas develop on some fruit but never enough to ruin a crop.
Here are some photos: 1) Korean Giant with some dimples; 2) mostly Chojuro (brown skins) with 1 Shinseiki (yellow); 3) bagged Asian Pear.
Idyllwild
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