North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Kieran &/or Donna" <holycow@frontiernet.net>]

My scionwood from Corvallis has arrived.  I haven't opened it yet, but there should be 2 scions of everything I ordered, and I won't need that much of most varieties.  There are several that are supposed to be quite hardy.  All will have at least some blight resistance.  I figured that you northerners ought to have first dibs on the hardiest selections.  I can list other varieties later that will grow further south.  The hardy list is:

 

Early Harvest    was grown in Ontario, probably not as good as some of the newer vars

Southworth      from Duluth MN, supposed to be very good

Manning-Miller    Potsdam NY, quality at least good

Okolo         From SD breeding program, described as "Delicious Flavor" and rated highly in Oregon too. 

Pai Li   from northern China, said to be very good quality

 

Low chill but hardy vars, both from northern China, which you can probably grow if you can get decent apricot crops at your place:

Ya Li

Tse Li 

 

You can find more info on these vars at this site: 

http://www.ars-grin.gov/cor/pyrus/pyrinfo.html

Their quality rating system runs 1-9, but most are rated 3-6.  Only a very few pears get an 8 rating, and of blight resistant vars I am happy to see a 6.  They give Kieffer a 3, but they can't ripen late pears very well, so some very late vars get a low quality rating.   

    Contact me if you'd like to try these hardy vars.  Anyone who's looking for other blight res vars might want to contact me and see if I have what they are looking for.  Donna