Pears (pryus spp.)

Pears are amazing trees with an untapped potential. They are true magnets for wildlife. They can live for hundreds of years sometimes. They can also grow in forests as full canopy trees. And of course, pears can be cultivated into fruit trees for an orchard or yard.

All pears benefit from and sometimes require a pollinator, so plant at least two trees.

Varieties

Wild Pear- The trees we gather from are gigantic disease resistant individuals. Some will produce as much as 1,000 pounds a year. Wild pears are great for wildlife, livestock, and for making pear sauce or perry. They are not good for fresh eating. Plant two for pollination

Ussurien Pear- These are seedling pears. Ussurien pears are native to Northeast Asia including Siberia, Korea, and Manchuria. They are robust vigorous trees that are the most cold hardy of all the pear species. The fruits are rock hard and virtually inedible. However, they make good rootstocks and are excellent wildlife trees. We are experimenting with Ussurien pears in our timber plantings. Ussuriens have a high resistance to fireblight and are susceptible to pear decline (a disease I have read about but never witnessed).

OHxF 97 Standard size disease resistant rootstock pear. Vigorous and cold hardy

Krazulya Super cold hardy new selection from Russia touted for its awesome flavor and outstanding disease resistance. Grafted