HI rovabay welcome to your new obsession. Santa Rosa is an excellent choice as a self pollinator. That was my first producing tree and there was no other plum anywhere near. Fruit was not large, and also few in quantity, but that's what happens without cross pollination. Now that she has a mate I have to thin out 90% of the baby plums or I get cherry sized fruit. One caution. I read somewhere that 3 diff strains had been released all with the Santa Rosa name. I've seen pics of other folks plums that look more red than mine. Mine are a very dark skin, very tart, but flesh is yellow and juicy. I can't vouch for other Santa Rosas ability to self pollinate. I love Asian Pears, and many folks are saying most are partly self fertile. I planted 4 diff kinds my first year so I can't agree or disagree with that. In all honesty I'd go Semi Dwarf on all trees and see if you can fit 2 into each spot. Lots easier to care for and more production that way. Pruning a combo tree takes a learning curve, and usually one variety takes over anyway. So if you hadn't planned for other pollination you'd be in trouble down the road anyway. My vote on Asian Pears is Raja if you can get it. I also love Hosui, but that tree takes a lot of work. Most folks love Olympic Giant, but just put mine in so can't comment on taste yet. It would however extend your picking season, plus OG is a great storage pear. I do have 20th century but haven't been wowed by it yet. However it's young, and they say some trees need to grow up before tasting their best. Pam in cinti

If you are going to get the Shinko, a good pollinator is Shinseiki. They bloom at the same time in my yard and my son-in-law's yard (both Houston). The shinko is good as long as you don't get too much rain near ripening. They will be bland with the rain.....dry periods good. Shinseiki is better in my opinion, but it needs a pollinator. Shinko fruits without a pollinator, but much more fruit with a pollinator. Shinko does get blight....I lost mine after about 8 years due to blight....it was bad that year. I replaced my shinko with Tennosui. First time fruiting last year. Was not impressed with fruit. Mine were not crisp and low flavor. Tree may still be too young. I prefer crisp pears and my favorite is Southern Queen, sweet, flavorful and crisp. I may replace my Tennosui with it's sister, Southern King if the fruit don't improve. The Akers (acres) Home pear is very good. It is excellent flavor and sweetness after a week or two off the tree. No problems with blight, but it does have rot problems. You may have to spray.....don't know about San Antone. I think the rot problem may be why it is not pushed much anymore here, but it is excellent. I pulled mine due to rot and it is a melting pear and I like crisp.

Wow that’s a lot of questions. I see where you all coming from and great points. Keep in mind I just started planting things so if I come off not knowing what I’m doing please don’t get offended. I know some people have great passions with plants and stuff I don’t want to offend anyone with my lack of knowledge or not having time to care or maintain it as much as one would like. I appreciate all your comments and expertise. Murky .Are the trees planted in the same soil as the rest of the yard?--Yes. What kind of soil is it?--Mostly clay. If you dig a hole in the soil and fill it with water does the water drain?--Yes. How do you determine when and how much to water them?--In the Texas summer I water them 2 times a week, once a week in spring, once every 2 weeks in fall and once a month in the winter. Are there other trees in the same conditions that are doing well? What kind?--No If those questions don't uncover anything I would think about how much sun they are getting ��" 6 hours. how they were planted (were they bare root or potted, what time of year, were the potted ones rootbound and if so what did you do at planting etc.) ��" They were all from potted, I planted them as they would be in a pot meaning a little above ground level with a little of the soil in the pot mixed in with the clay. Planted in spring about 3 years ago. Not sure if I understand what rootbound means but I did loosen up the roots as much as I can without hurting it before I planted. Other questions that come to mind are have you done a soil test? No Is somebody driving heavy equipment over the root zone?--No Do the leaves look healthy throughout the growing season?--Yes Have the trees been damaged?--No Have you observed pests or diseases taking a toll on them?--Not much Pest, if there’s any I would spray them with vinegar mixed with water (don’t ask why ��" wifey’s idea) . Were they allowed to fruit heavily very young?--I’m not sure how old the trees was when I bought it, but yes I did let the fruits grow. Also, my wife is into organic stuff so i don’t use chem fertilizer on the trees. I should have use organic fertilizer but I didn't put any. By the way, I think something is confused in the telling or in my reading with regard to the Asian pear/Fuji Apple. That sounds like two different trees. Did the tree have 2 tags - one of each? When it had fruit was it an apple or a pear? I don't know of an Asian pear named Fuji, and for all intents and purposes you cannot have the two on the same tree (while maybe technically possible you will never find such a tree for sale). ��"-there was one tag and it says Asian pear/Fuji apple. I asked the worker what it means by Asian pear/Fuji Apple, she said it was mixed between the two. When it fruited it kind of looks/tasted like an Asian pear, it’s hard to say because the fruit was too small. bhawkins Do the trees get any extra water during the year? I don’t know how to answer this question. How many hours of sun a day do they get?--6hours Did you plant with amendmends, like peat moss?--With some of the soil from the pot mixed in with clay. What's your soil like? Crumbly, or clay, or white rocks?-- clay, top 2 feet is sand mixed in with clay. Do you use mulch? Yes, but the grass has taken over and I left it since. I have a new born so I don't get to go online much so I would like to apologize in advanced for the delays on my replies.

Interesting that I am having more damage on Asian pears this year as well. I've also noticed a lot more stink bugs than usual. Oddly enough I haven't seen european hornets this year, though. In addition, not many fruits set on my more mature trees after a good crop last year. One good variety for me not mentioned here is chojuro(AKA the "rum" pear)--relatively small (especially so this year), but highly flavored and less juicy even than KG. It's beginning to ripen now. I wouldn't give up on shinseiki. It has been a flavorful pear and significantly larger than its parent 20th century for me anyway. It's also been much less prone to cracking than 20th century. I also like KG. Its lateness, large size, and storage capacity are important assets. Hosui tends to be very juicy and seems to please a lot of people. I've only had two seasons of shinko (and just a few at that), but it hasn't impressed me much. It's been rather bland for me and prone to cracking. The variety's main selling point seems to be its purported fireblight resistance. All these observations are in my area of course and these varieties could perform quite differently for you.