Wild pear tree source

[andrew]

Does anyone know a good northern wild pear tree source?

 

[andrew]

I looked at oikos, it would be nice to get something bigger than 3-6 inches tall.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Whats your definition of a "wild" pear? I grow some varieties that are reportedly cold hardy to -30 degrees.

 

[andrew]

I just looking for none nursery stock, ones that produce pears that deer will eat and will grow big and knarly with little maintenance.

 

[H20fwler]

Wildlife Group has some that are supposed to be almost maintenance free and grow good in the north.

I've got some out but nothing has been in ground long enough to produce anything yet. The ones I got from them were all grafted, I've been very pleased with them so far.

http://www.wildlifegroup.com/shop-for-pear-trees/

 

[Neahawg]

Not sure what zone you are in Andrew but the wildlife group does have some great Pear trees though only rated up to zone 5 north of that and they make no guarantees. If you are in zone 4 or 3 Cummins nursery list pears they claim are good for both zones.

 

[andrew]

I am zone 4.

 

[Neahawg]

So yeah I would look into what Cummins nursery has if you are wanting to grow pears. Those are the only ones I know make a claim to survive in those zones.

 

[Turkey Creek]

What varieties are those?

Stacey, Nova, Parker, Luscious and Summer Crisp.

 

[bueller]

I've got Summercrisp that is doing very well, hopefully will fruit in another 2 or 3 years, and another one or two that did not survive.

I've only planted one Savignac but it is my best pear tree so far. If and when I'm ready to plant more I'll definitely be looking for them. All my pears were ordered from St. Lawrence Nurseries in upstate NY.

 

[Tree Spud]

I've got Summercrisp that is doing very well, hopefully will fruit in another 2 or 3 years, and another one or two that did not survive.

I've only planted one Savignac but it is my best pear tree so far. If and when I'm ready to plant more I'll definitely be looking for them. All my pears were ordered from St. Lawrence Nurseries in upstate NY.

What are you using as a cross pollinator for the Summercrisp?

 

[bueller]

What are you using as a cross pollinator for the Summercrisp?

I planted Pattens with mine as pollinators however I've since lost all of them. I don't know if any others I have left will pollinate them, and that's IF the others ever grow enough to produce a flower. I haven't planted any new fruit trees for a few years and I probably won't for another couple years, if ever.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I can tell you that Summer Crisp was not winter hardy to repeated temps in the mid to upper -20s for me.

I'll be able to tell you about Stacey in the future as I grafted some this spring.

Cummins claims Summer Crisp is hardy into 2B. For descriptions all I can go by is what the reputable sources (including individuals such as yourself) report. I will never see -30 where I live, I dont recall anything colder than - single digits for along time. If I do I am moving farther south! We got down to 6 degrees last night and supposed to be 3 degrees here tonight, that is beyond cold enough for me.

 

[andrew]

So in your opinion what would be some pear varieties that would survive in my area, super cold and windy in the winter.

 

[chickenlittle]

Andrew, I think the takeaway should be that pears are risky for your area and you should think about apples before pears. You colder zone fruit guys agree with that?

 

[rocksnstumps]

I'd take the advice of smsmith on going with his list of nursery stock. Yes I have wild pears growing on my land and down the road in zone 4b that eventually grow big, knarly, and maintenance free (but small fruit). They also take forever to get any fruit much less any quantity. I would say one by me which finally blossomed and had a few fruit took about 25 yrs. Gets lots of sun too. The wild apples are way ahead in that department.

Maybe Maple Valley Orchards will get back into business in 2017 and you could check with them on pears. I think one of the owners had some health problems that they closed for awhile . They had a decent list of pears. Of course if Turkey Creek has something similar, nice to support a fellow habitat junkie.

 

[Tree Spud]

Anyone have experience with Kieffer pears in colder climate? They are listed zone 4.

 

[andrew]

The only reason I was thinking pear was I have a lot of cedar planted on the property and was worried about CAR, I would love to plant crabs instead but don't want to go to all that work to plant and maintain if they are just going to be loaded with CAR every year. Would you guys still plant the crabs with the presence of cedars? Do any of you guys have any experience with northern whitetail crabapples? I would be very interested in their seedlings.

 

[andrew]

I didn't know pears could be affected, good to know. If I would have known then what I know now about CAR 10 years ago I wouldn't have planted all of those cedars and chose a different option.

 

[andrew]

yup, a bunch of red cedar. Liberty and Enterprise would be about the best for CAR resistance correct? what are some resistant crabapples?