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Fruit & Orchards

Looking for really early (blooming) pear

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I have a Hood pear that blooms very early, usually mid Jan to Feb. I have the correct pollinator planted next to it (Flordahome) but it's been blooming after the Hood with only a small overlap. Last year the Hood bloomed early, then the Flordahome bloomed, then the Hood bloomed again in March, almost missing the Flordahome bloom on both sides. On top of this, the pears don't attract many bees so I have to hand pollinate, and it's hard to catch the small overlap.

I need to find another early blooming pear and get possibly some scionwood from it. But it's hard to find lists with pear blooming dates, so I thought I'd ask here. Even the names of early blooming pears would be real helpful.

John

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Comments (7)

copingwithclay
9 years ago
A Hood with a 6" trunk, a younger one with a 2" trunk, and a Hood branch grafted on a Bradford pear tree all flower out before other pears here near Houston. Depending on the year, when the Hoods are about 25% to 50% finished flowering, Acres Home pear branches are flowering. In some years, Southern Queen is beginning to flower when Hood is maybe 80% done. The other several varieties miss out on the Hood flowers entirely. Hood is a good eating pear that has never had any fireblight over time, but does get lots of leaf spot late in the season. Great tree.
rayrose SC 8
9 years ago
My earliest blooming pear is Pineapple, which is also self fertile.
Mine blooms in march. You're in a warmer zone than me, so it might
bloom earlier for you. It's a great pear, with no disease.
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jbclem
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions. It's really hard to make comparisons without a blooming times chart, especially with the different geographic locations. I'll keep an eye open for scion wood of the varieties mentioned and keep looking for a blooming chart.
copingwithclay
9 years ago
After March I will know if the Acres Home scions in the fridge are all used up or not for grafting and giving. If any are left you are welcome to some.
Chris
9 years ago
I've looked for a chart of pear bloom times as well with no success. Maybe we can put one together with enough input from people in zone 9.

The buds on my Anjou pear that was planted last year (already big... about 8 feet) just started poking out yesterday. No action on my potted Bartlett yet.
alan haigh
9 years ago
Seckel is the earliest I grow besides the Asians, which would work if Seckel isn't early enough.
jbclem
Original Author
9 years ago
copingwithclay...if you have any Acres Home cuttings left, I'd like to have some. Let me know when you're finished using them.

alan haigh...it's nice to know that since I've grafted Seckel onto two different pear trees (last year, including the Hood), and the grafts have taken but haven't started growing this year. It's not unusual for my grafts to take and then not grow, I'm not sure what the reason is but this year I've been timing my grafting to the flushing of the specific trees...I didn't do that previously. I'm also making sure I fertilize the trees extra in case that's why grafts lie dormant when they should be growing.

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