Anyone growing Asian Pears in zone 7

[Arkansas]

I planted 4 Asian Pears this Spring and so far they look great.

Any tips?

[CharlieBear]

They should do well in zone 7 if you planted them the correct distance apart and are keeping them watered, but not soggy this summer. Be sure to dormant spray them this winter after they drop their leaves. Pick up all the leaves, don't let them stay there. It is fine to put them in a general compost pile. Don't get any mulch within an 8" radius of the tree trunk. Don't fertilize them this year or next, if you plan to fertilize them. Let them acclimate to the soil they are planted in.
Some people put them on a spray regiment beyond dormant spray, but many don't. Personally, is they don't exibit problems, why, beyond dormant spray, but that is just me. Be patient, if any fruit forms next year be sure to knock if off asap. If it bears the next year limit the amount of fruit you allow to say on the tree.

[Arkansas]

Thanks for the tips CharlieBear!

I never heard of dormant spray but a quick search clued me in and I'm on it after the leaves die off, and no leaves left left lying about.

I'm a less is more kind of guy, so it will be zero fertilizer for me.

I'm really liking this forum. I'm semi-retired (cut down to only one job) and finally have time to pursue gardening, so this place is handy as a pocket on a shirt.

Thanks again:)

[soil]

we have a few and we have zone 7 winters. they do great and yield well.

[applestar]

I had a cross pollinating pair (I'm inZone 6b) but they died due to extreme prevalence of Fireblight in the area. So far I haven't seen any cultivar to replace them with that fills me with confidence, but I keep looking.

What cultivars did you plant?

Good luck with yours. I love Asian pears. One other problem I had was keeping the squirrels from stealing them before they were ready to pick.

[Arkansas]

I need to start keeping records. 2 of these are Korean Giant Asian Pear trees i bought off ebay and 2 others i don't recall what variety they are but i bought them online at a place called Willis Orchards.

All 4 plants came bare root and not many roots at that and i wondered how well they would fare as this is my first mail ordered fruit trees.

I watered them good the first 2 or 3 days i put them out in the early spring and haven't watered them any more until about 2 weeks ago when leaves started turning brown on one of them.

It's 104 here today and forecast to be hotter the rest of the week. And it's dry so i will water them about 3 times a week until we get better weather.

[CharlieBear]

That reminds me, you didn't post where you are in zone 7. Fire blight is a real problem in some parts of the country. The way to stop that problem is to spray with a sulfur/lime mixture before the blossoms open and if it is are really wet spring then again just before the leaves open up. You might want to read up on fire blight and check with your co-operative extention to see if you are in an infected area. If you are you will have to spray or lose them. There are other treatments, but they are not organic.

[Arkansas]

Thanks for the tips CharlieBear, my Arkanasa co-operative webpage shows

Apple and Pear Diseases in Arkansas

Bitter Rot
Cedar Apple Rust
Fire Blight
Flyspeck
Scab

And it don't specify what counties are effected. I rather think one of my trees has fire blight already, from looking at pictures.

I'm in Yell County Arkansas

[applestar]

I have not heard that sulfur-lime is effective against fireblight which is a bacterial disease.... Since I prefer to stay as organic as possible, I tend to look for disease resistant varieties more than anything else.

I'm actually often torn about spraying with even milder forms of preventives when they are broad spectrum killers since I want to preserve the biodiversity and allow beneficial organisms -- insects as well as bacterial and fungal agents to do their work. But I realize that's not for everyone.

According to this, Korean Giant IS a good choice:

In summary, it appears that Shinko and Korean Giant may be the two most promising varieties for commercial or home plantings because of their higher level of fire blight resistance, good tree characteristics, yielding ability, and quality fruit. Housi should certainly be included in commercial and home orchards, but special attention must be given to managing fire blight. Because the variety picture is dynamic and continually being evaluated, growers can expect additional changes in the future as Asian pears become part of the Alabama fruit scene.

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1131/

Thanks for posting your question. Maybe I'll consider getting them again.

[CharlieBear]

Scab mostly affects the fruit, but if the tree gets it too heavily it can die. One way to protect against (time comsuming, but no spray needed) is to get paper lunch sacks and put some staples along the top edge leaving an opening about 1"+ in the center. When the fruit is small about 3/4" across and you have thinned out the tree appropriately, slip the bag around the individual pear and staple closed without stapling the pear or the stem. I do that for apples as well which are also get scab. The theory is that if the insects can't see or smell the fruit they just more on elsewhere. It is time consuming and some purest might prefer the scabbed fruit and eventually a dead tree.
A better way to control just fire blight (the other is to get the jump on lots of those diseases and sulfur/lime Bourdon solution is the organic method) is to mix equal parts white vinegar and water. Put in had sprayer and generously coat the leaves and branches especially at the joints of the branches with the trunk. Start in early spring just as temps start to rise. Respray after every heavy rain and every 2-3 weeks if you are in an area very prone to fire blight. Inspect the trees regularly if you see any signs remove and distroy immediately. Acid makes it very hard for blight to survive. So, if you are seeing any remove it and start spraying with diluted white vinegar. That is about as organic and you will get. A lot of work, but they are very young trees.
The sulfur/lime is a mild fugicide and will take care of the ceder apple rust. It over winters- it looks orange on the leaves and will be bright orange on the fruit. Pears, apples and quince are very succeptible. So spraying with a fungicide either the organic mentioned above or copper some forms of which are also considered organic, other are not. We got it this year on the Juneberries, which were moved. They had to be distroyed.

[applestar]

CharlieBear, I'm " listening" very hard. With such specific details, I would expect that you've done have been doing these successfully. So I'm not trying to be negative but only looking for clarity.

Vinegar can be herbicidal. Is 50/50 sufficient dilution for tender spring growth? Is acidity sufficiently anti-bacterial? I've heard that the infection can start from the blossoms.

My winning apple variety is Enterprise. It's resistant to Fireblight, cedar apple rust and apple scab, and shrugs off all three with minimal damage -- a browned branch tip here and there, spotted leaves and fruits here and there is all. Other two varieties of apples I have are Pristine and Arkansas Black -- both have resisted Fireblight nicely. So I only spray them the Milk Solution in the humid months as fungal preventive and do nothing but clip off Fireblight affected leaves and branch tips with pruners that are sterilized with alcohol after each cut.

So far, my Magness and Sickle pears are resisting well as well.

As mentioned above, I've lost other varieties in the past.

To date, I haven't found Asian pears with similar level of disease resistance, but I *may* give the Korean Giant a try.

Charlie, what varieties of apples, pears, and Asian pears do you grow and what are the locally prevalent diseases that you have to watch out for? Which specific spray regimens do you regularly use? I want to get a feel for success level vs. effort needed due to susceptibility of the varieties you grow. This would help me establish a comfort level for the remedies you are recommending so that I might consider if I might utilize them.

Thanks!

P.S. my Amelanchier canadensis gets hit hard with cedar apple rust. So far I lose most of the fruits although the leaves seem to be immune.