howmanyds
Newly Registered
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Feb 11, 2015 7:03 pm
Location: Murrieta, Riverside County, California; Zone 9

Pollinating a Sugar (Seckel) Pear with an Asian Pear

I have a young sugar pear (15g was planted two years ago) that hasn't borne fruit yet. I'd like to get another pear to help with pollination though the nursery insists that the sugar pear is self pollinating. I'm in Southern California. Are there any Asian pears that will flower at the same time as the sugar pear so they can pollinate each other? Or do I need to get another European variety?

Thank you!

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Seckel pear is supposed to be self pollinating. In any case, it can't be pollinated by an Asian pear.
Seckel pear is often planted to assist pollinating European pear cultivars.

I think yours just need to mature a little more. Have yours been blooming yet? Pears seem to take longer than apples to start bearing fruits. My Seckel pear just started to bloom two springs ago -- just a few flowers at first, then more last year -- which has helped my Magness pear to set a few fruits, but the Seckel didn't set fruits on their own blossoms.

The Magness is an Asian-European cross and is supposedly can be pollinated by either. I was hoping that local callery landscape pears would assist, but it bloomed beautifully for three years without bearing any fruits. I had initially planted another sugar pear called Tylar (I think? I'll have to look it up) but it died the first year due to fireblight which I thought it was resistant to. -- Point being I don't know if it needed the Seckel pollen or it wasn't mature enough.

These overly cultivated fruit trees can be tricky with their need for the right pollinators. :?

howmanyds
Newly Registered
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Feb 11, 2015 7:03 pm
Location: Murrieta, Riverside County, California; Zone 9

Thank you for your response. Does it work the other way? Can a seckel pear help pollinate an Asian, or does it only help European pears?

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

They are two different species P. pyrifolia and P. communis and can't pollinate the other.



Return to “All Other Fruit”