North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

I've grown Asian pears from seed.  Treat them like any other pears, though it may take ten years for the own-rooted seedling to come into bearing.  Also, no guarantee that any of the seedlings will be as good as the parent.  
When I grew out open pollinated seedlings of 20th Century, more than half had low vigor, though there was a wide range of other traits in the seedlings.  One was the prettiest thing I've ever seen in a pear, with a glowing white-yellow that looked like a big pearl.  And as totally lacking in flavor or sweetness as anything I've seen.  Another was so acid it could have been juiced for vinegar.  One had a "pole" growth habit, all covered with spurs.  Fruit was tasty, but so small they weren't worth anything.  
Etc.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
On Apr 20, 2006, at 9:05 AM, John Barbowski wrote:

Hello Nafexers,
 
I recently purchased a Ya Pear at the supermarket and was surprised with its sweetness,
crispness and juiceyness. I drew some comparisons to Honeycrisp apples. 
 
Not thinking much would result from it, I put six of the seeds from the core in the soil
around my sprouting Turkish Fig. Behold the emergence of 5 new seedlings!
 
I tried looking on the INet for growing techniques, but came back empty handed. Should
these seedlings be treated as normal N Am pears? Are there special considerations for
soil, sun and moisture? How big does the tree get? Should the seedlings be planted in
their final resting ground this year? May I expect true fruit to set, and in how many years?