North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

> Most of them as Korean Giant, because it is our best performer, being highly 
> resistant to blight, cropping regularly and heavily, and being our favorite 
> for flavor and keeping ability. ...
>
> This cultivar goes by a number of names: Olympic, Arrirang sp? (its Korean 
> name), and Starking _____ing _______ing.  So I'm curious where you got yours, 
> and also about how this tree has done for others in the upper south and 
> beyond.


My tree was called "Starking Hardy Giant," which I think is the Stark 
Bros. name for "Olympic" or "Korean Giant." (I hate it when nurseries 
invent their own names for fruit varieties.)

But I must say that I just love the tree. It has grown really great and 
even when young has been loaded with fruit which tastes great and keeps 
a long time (when I spray it enough to keep the codling moth out of it). 
Frankly, it's been everything I want in a fruit tree.

And although this pear is less than ten feet from my Suncrisp apple 
which had fireblight so bad last year, I never saw a sign of the disease 
on this tree. Admittedly, I had no fireblight on any of my three 
varieties of Asian pear.

My "New Century" ("Shinseiki"?) pear is fine, too, but the tree has 
always been very spindly, with tiny little branches. OK, ordinarily I 
want to keep my trees small, but this one could REALLY use some vigor. 
And my Hosui Asian pear, which is on the other side of the yard, just 
doesn't taste very good. Well, last year was the first I had fruit from 
it, but they had a weird tang, to my taste. And I've just had a terrible 
time getting it to branch well.

Just my experience...

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

http://garthright.blogspot.com/

--
I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the 
places they do today. - Will Rogers