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.

No, it doesn't revert. What happens is that other cultivars ('Bradford' is a particular cultivar) like 'Cleveland Select' or 'Aristocrat' are being sold more now and they are cross pollinating with yours, creating fruit. 'Bradford' is only sterile while it is around other 'Bradfords'.

jeez fledge ... why cant we malign our favorite whipping tree .... lol MSDS for brandons chemical selection linked below ... is there such a thing as a msds that doesnt make it sound like the world as we know it will end ... read down for all the variations of ecological problems.. like birds... you... wetland creatures .... you .. from the link: "Subjects [human] receiving the test compound reported the following symptoms and/or signs; sudden onset of diarrhea or an urgency of bowel movements, stomach cramps or gas and increased urgency or frequency of urination, and either an increase or decrease in appetite. " sounds like the effects of a whole bottle of scotch .... lol .. maybe if i drank the scotch.. i wouldnt care about the fruits... lol .... regardless ... having a bit of fun here... if you go the self applied chemical route... buy a suit and CORRECT masking unit ... learn how to use it... buy a good sprayer that will shoot as high as you need... AND USE ALL CHEMICALS STRICTLY ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTIONS .... AND DILUTIONS ... none of this.. twice as much is twice as good stuff ... and i cant help myself .... but you can do so much better in tree selection .... good luck ken Here is a link that might be useful: msds

Down here in Maryland, the land where the evil Bradford Pear was first developed, they are a real pest. The article "The Coming Plague of Pears" sums up the threat posed by these wretched trees. When I was growing up in southern New Jersey, the streets along my walk to middle school had a bunch of older Bradford Pears line them. These were larger than any I've seen since, yet within 2 years time, nearly all of them had fallen apart - I must have gotten there right at the very end of their life spans. Down here in Maryland, they are even more common, sadly. The center of the local town was lined with them until June, 2002, when we had very serious thunderstorms - it was this group of storms that dropped the Wye Oak on the Eastern Shore, and that white oak will be missed. Most other trees survived except the stupid Bradford Pears in the center of town were all destroyed. The next year they cut them all down and ripped them, replacing them with some other type of tree that is not a pear. Unfortunately, these trees are still pretty common down here and have basically taken over the nursey industry, at least "big box" stores like Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. When you walk in and look for a tree, 2/3 of them or more will be Callery Pears of some type, and the rest are something useful (if you're lucky). Getting a decent oak or maple is like pulling teeth, but everyone wants pears, right? Ugh!