Low chill pear exceptions.
The following thread was started by Brian on February 06, 2010 at 11:57 pm PST
exceptions supposed to be recomendations
sorry was thinking of something else when I typed that.
The above followup was added by Brian on February 06, 2010 at 11:59 pm PST.
Pineapple is allright but not great. I grafted over most of my tree and kept only one branch. In general the. Low chill pears aren't that good. From what I hear, though, pears are very forgiving, and generally require less chill than apples.
So try a pear that you like. I recommend sekel and beurre superfin.
The above followup was added by Axel on February 07, 2010 at 5:53 am PST.
I have also heard that most low chill pears such as Flordahome and Hood are not that good. The best prospect for a good-tasting pear that doesn't need too much chill is likely to be one with some Asian pear in its lineage. 'Warren' was developed in Mississippi and is reputed to be the best taster in this group. It is free of grit cells and has good fireblight resistance. I have no experience with it, though. I'm just passing this along as hearsay for your own research.
The above followup was added by Steve in Brookings on February 07, 2010 at 11:36 am PST.
My standards are probably below most people. I actually like some grit in my pears sometimes.
The above followup was added by Brian on February 07, 2010 at 8:35 pm PST.
Hosui, Kikisui, Shinko, Ya Li and Tsu Li have al fruited in San Diego, for me, at about 100 hours chill. 2 days per year at 38F, a few days below 45F, and a fair amount at 45-50F They could all use a touch more chill to improve fruitfulness, esp. the Shinko, but all have produced here.
The above followup was added by pitangadiego on February 07, 2010 at 9:49 pm PST.
I actaully had a fanstil in my hands and decided not to buy it. I went back the next day and it was gone.
How do they taste? Do they do well here in SSZ23?
The above followup was added by George on February 07, 2010 at 10:34 pm PST.
Moonglow and Keiffer were the ones I was planning to stay away from. I am growing out a rootstock to multigraft. Ive never tried the low chill pears, but from descriptions keiffer is real gritty and "good for canning". ie if you really have to have a pear but nothing else will grow...Moonglow is "mild flavored". ie bland
The above followup was added by Brendan on February 11, 2010 at 12:28 am PST.
I havent heard that about pears, always all this hype about how its worth trying any apple cus it will adapt. Anybody have experience with growing higher chill apples on multigrafted trees, vs single specimen? One of the nurseries down south claims single works for them and multi doesnt on apples that need more chill then theyre getting.
The above followup was added by Brendan on February 11, 2010 at 12:30 am PST.
chill requirements for apples have been distorted by the experience of people planting trees on standard rootstocks waiting and waiting (and waiting....) for the trees to bear.
I was clicking through their You-tube videos last night and they had a guy in Riverside planting all kinds of apples on more dwarfing stocks--helps precocity they say. He was getting "results" from apples that should not fruit in "low chill" Riverside.
Of course, one or two apples in a season is not my idea of "results", but it's not clear if that's what he was talking about. And...Riverside is not "low chill" compared to here by the back bay. It remains to be seen what can be done with apples by the water--or pears, for that matter. Wish the good ones didn't want so much cold..... Thank goodness for Seckel. Worth a try.
The above followup was added by Steve in Los Osos on February 11, 2010 at 9:42 pm PST.
Our pears always bloom before apples, overall they seem to require less chill. I've visited the apple grower in Roverside, he has a few successes, but overall it's limited. He has a lot of blind wood, most of the apples are way off cycle, and some varieties plain don't work at all, for example newtown pippin.
The above followup was added by Axel on February 14, 2010 at 3:40 pm PST.