Options for late dropping pear in zone 4 and colder

TimberHawk

A good 3 year old buck
I've been searching this forum and other options for a late dropping pear that is cold hardy enough to handle zone 4B (my place) and 3/4A (a buddy's place that is also looking) and haven't had much luck. I'd like to find something that holds into October and November would be even better.

A few options along with questions on each
1. Midwest Deer Trees: I found this nursery in some searches. https://www.midwestdeertrees.com/deer-pear-trees.html Does anyone have any firsthand knowledge of their pear trees? I saw a personal reference on this forum, but couldn't find anyone that could speak to the trees themselves.

2. The Wildlife Group has a "Late Drop Pear Package". I'm waiting on an email back from them, but my hunch is that they aren't going to make the zone 4 cutoff.

3. Blue Hill Wildlife Nursery had some that might work for me (4b), but they were out of stock and that seems to be a common theme. I'm guessing that ship has sailed for planting in 2022. If I end up having to punt until 2023, when do they start selling their stock?

Are there any other options that I'm missing?

Thanks in advance.
 
You should be looking at Russian and Canadian pears. I have tried a few pears in Zone 4, and they just didn't perform as I had hoped. A lot of winter die-back, and overall poor/slow growth. This led me to give up on trying to push the boundaries of European and American pears and go the other direction and try for the absolute most cold-hardy pears on the planet. Because of Covid, I haven't been able to get this project off the ground yet, but I'm hoping either this summer or next I can get them grafted and in the ground.

Here are some examples to get your search going:

Krazulya, Krasnobokaya, Marshal Zhukov, Sentyabrina, Memory Zhegalova, Memory Yakolev, Chizhovsky, Kudesnitsa, Vekovaya, Bolshaya, Sentyabrina, Beedle, etc.
 
Plant apples. Pears have been a complete disaster for me. They just don’t like the cold and late dropping cold pear is like a unicorn.
 
My experience with pears is like chummers. I have had a few pears on my one franken pear tree.

I have worked in zones 4A to 3b for years. And the pear crop becomes less reliable as you get colder.

Bluehill and Midwest both have asked if I wanted their pear tree. I might have one of those Russian varieties on my franken trees. I think all three of those are possibilities to explore.

Note I said explore. Plant crab apples for reliable fruit and less care as you get into zone 3. Perhaps soil pH also has a bearing.

I am within an hour of Midwest trees. He is in a slightly warmer climate with winter minimums of 5-10 degrees less than me. I have worked farms for 40 years within a 125 mile swath through this area. The best pear crops are on the south end of this area.

I am still unsure if I want to plant any more pears.


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I'm in 4b on the verge of 5a. Have had pears in the ground for 7 years now. Bought from a nursery in 4b/5a. Some have decent growth but overall not the growth they should have. Fruiting has only occured on one tree and it was limited. For comparison I have 2nd leaf crabs that are fruiting.

The problem with buying from brand name places like midwest deer trees is that you most likely won't know the root stock.

Save yourself some frustration, go 80-90% apples & crab apples then pant a couple cold hardy pears.
 
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I'm in 4b on the verge of 5a. Have had pears in the ground for 7 years now. Bought from a nursery in 4b/5a. Some have decent growth but overall not the growth they should have. Fruiting has only occured on one tree and it was limited. For comparison I have 2nd leaf crabs that are fruiting.

The problem with buying rom brand name places like midwest deer trees is that you most likely won't know the root stock.

Save yourself some frustration, go 80-90% apples & crab apples then pant a couple cold hardy pears.

I agree with the above, except that both BlueHills and Midwest will know what the rootstock is.


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I agree with the above, except that both BlueHills and Midwest will know what the rootstock is.


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Yes, Blue Hills, Cummins, and few others will tell you the rootstock. Others here have commented that Whitetail Crabs use B118. No experience with Midwest as of yet.
 
I talked with Luke at Midwest Deer trees earlier this week. I got the impression that he wont advise planting his pears in 3b. He seems like a straight shooter and I’d give him a call if you have any questions.
 
Late dropping may not be possible that far north
 
I talked with Luke at Midwest Deer trees earlier this week. I got the impression that he wont advise planting his pears in 3b. He seems like a straight shooter and I’d give him a call if you have any questions.

From our discussions, I believe he uses dolgo rootstocks on his apples, like BlueHills has done.

Luke strikes me as an honest fellow.


There is/was a commercial nursery about 10 miles from him where I have purchased fruit trees in the past. Years ago, that fellow told me he carries pears because people ask for them, but he wasn’t sure they were a good choice from there and north into zone 3.

That would have been Huls,which somewhat changed their business model. The operator is a knowledgeable guy.


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I would look at Johantorp and Collette everbearing pear. Because the collette pear keeps blooming and fruiting all year, it has provided me pears when other trees have failed because of late frosts.
 
I would look at Johantorp and Collette everbearing pear. Because the collette pear keeps blooming and fruiting all year, it has provided me pears when other trees have failed because of late frosts.

A quick check indicated zone 4 as the coldest.


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A quick check indicated zone 4 as the coldest.


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My bad I saw he wanted zone 4, but didn’t see he also wanted zone 3
 
There was a research project by Walden Heights for cold hardy pears. Was funded by SARE. Not sure if there is any recent information on what pears were doing ok and on rootstocks.
 
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