How does the pollen get from one Asian pear tree to the other, by the wind? I have never seen a bee visit any of my Asian pear tree blossoms, while I see dozens of them on my nectarine trees. I have been trying to hand pollinate them using a brush but I think I spread fireblight doing that that killed my Hosui, so am not doing it anymore. The year I didn't hand pollinate I didn't get any fruit, maybe just a coincidence? I had a Shinseki, 20th Century, and the Hosui that died. The Hosui was the best producer, making full size fruit. The Shinseki and 20Th century make tiny fruit that ants usually eat their way into from the stem end, ruining the fruit. I bought these trees from a nursery that has a no return policy so I am stuck with them.

Organicgrower, I'm not Jorel. I have a friend whose name is Jorel and is not online in this forum. But since no one answered, I would assume that it would be me, JoeReal. You will have to prune your tree different ways from now on. Prune during the late summer. First thin out the overcrowding or cross over branches. Then cut back half the length of most vigorous end twigs or limbs at each of the remaining major branches, for the non-vigorous limbs, pinch off 3 inches from the tip. This is to encourage spurs on the branches which hopefully become flower buds the next season. If you know how to do bark inversion, do it on your major trunk in the late summer, and make sure to cover the inverted bark properly with sealant. Bark inversion encourages bigger fruits, and you won't need to prune your tree for about 4 years yet it will bloom more and have bigger fruits. If you are not into organics, I would have recommended application of fertilizers high in K. If you are doing the organic way, one way you can do this is to apply wood ashes (sparingly, else they will turn your soil basic) and compost.

I can't remember all the threads where I've read comments about pears, especially European pears, taking such a long time to bear, but that hasn't been my experience. My inclination in explaining why is that everything just grows better in North Carolina than anywhere else in the world, but maybe you all have other theories. Scott, are you counting 4-5 years from seeding the rootstock or from grafting or from planting the kind of trees that nurseries typically ship bareroot or...? I planted Asian and European pears the winter of 07-08, so this past year was my 4th growing season. The Asians came from Hidden Springs Nursery. They don't say anything about grafting onto any kind of dwarf rootstock, but I have really no idea. I got about a half bushel per tree this 4th growing season, an average of maybe 4-8 pears per tree in the 3rd year, and I can't remember if I got any at all in the 2nd year. My two Euros came from Johnson Nursery. Johnsons says simply that they graft onto some kind of standard rootstock. I got a few pears from a Kiefer in the 3rd year and nearly a bushel this 4th year. Even the Moonglow that had the whole tree broken off below the first limb a year and a half ago produced a few pears this year, and I assume it would have yielded more like the Kiefer apart from that.

Thanks Austransplant, Scott, & Geraldo! Just because Im nervous about attracting FB to the AP tree, and my other apples, I think Ill stay well clear of the Hosui. The chart on this page seems to indicate that even the best FB resistant pears like Shinko are, at best, only moderately resistant to FB. But, this chart seems to indicate that the Shinko is indeed more resistant than the Kousi. So, its sounding to me like my choice is coming down to the bigger, better looking Korean Giant, or the not-quite-as-big, or good-looking, and harder-to-find but better FB resistant Shinko. Ha! I just found a quote that summed up my thinking: In summary, it appears that Shinko and Korean Giant may be the two most promising varieties for commercial or home plantings because of their higher level of fire blight resistance, good tree characteristics, yielding ability, and quality fruit I would only be planting a single tree, and I dont know of any other pear/AP pollination source in my neighborhood. I was thinking of doing this so I wouldnt have to do so much thinning that the others talked about. Not that thinning one tree sounds like a huge deal, but if I only want to plant one, and Id have to thin out all those zillion pears anyway, this seems like a better plan? Worst case, if the self-pollination didnt max out my tree, then I could graft on a Korean Giant branch and then get ready to do a lot of thinning? So, BET: grows too large of tree for me, but good damp soil resistance (Which could be important to me),. But OH333, more reasonable size tree, but doesnt have damp soil resistance, smaller fruit over time, sets fruit earlier, need to find a source. Both seem to have good FB resistance. Sounds like OH333 might be a better choice for me, but Id need to find a source. Thanks all for the help, -Glenn From the cummins site: OHxF 333 A semi-dwarfing pear rootstock. It is 1/2 to 2/3 standard size. Its resistance to fireblight, collar rot, woolly pear aphids and pear decline make this a very healthy stock. Precocious, well-anchored. Trees are very productive. Some reports that fruit size is reduced SOLD OUT FOR 2008 Pyrus betulifolia ("BET") seedlings are the rootstocks of choice for Asian pears. A number of extensive field trials have shown that fruit size is increased significantly as compared to other rootstocks. We also use Winter Nelis seedlings -- somewhat more winter-hardy than BET. AVAILABLE FOR 2007: Pyrusbetulifolia ("BET")