North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["David Doud" <doudone@netusa1.net>]

the transluscent skin seems to be a good indicator for many varieties - a little experience and you can spot the fruit that 'glows' - Korean Giant is a variety where that indicator is less useful - I expect them to ripen here (z-5) in early/mid october, with crop load being a factor - I have also experienced them improving off the tree - at harvest the flesh is tender, crisp and juicy, but flavor is somewhat starchy - 2-3-4 days at room temp and the sugar developes and makes for a wonderful experience -

 

I definitely spread the trees to form and open framework - limbs are more limber and less likely to break in the spring, and you can help yourself by flexing young growth in the direction you want to spread it - anytime you walk by the tree, grab the growth and bend it as you would desire it to grow - then when you use the W-clip to permanently position the limb, it's already been to that attitude and less likely to break -

 

with a nice vase shaped frame, the resulting upright growth can be managed with a 'grow, fruit, remove' 3-4 year rotation that keeps the trees small and the fruiting volume within reach of the ground, which is quite important to getting the hand thinning (which is the real key to growing asian pears) done -

 

regards, D