With "partridge in a pear tree" being heard everywhere these days, I've
accumulated some assorted pear musings & questions.
1. 'Honeysweet' is described by several nurseries as
"self-pollinating", but "The Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut
Varieties" (1997) says "...cultivar sets without pollination...". So is
it self-fertile (makes seed with it's own pollen) or does it just set a
lot of parthenocarpic fruit? Hedrick also described its mother, Seckel,
as being quite self-fertile. Is it? or parthenocarpy again?
2. Another 'Honeysweet' question for Southerners, especially. The
Register also says, "...does not defoliate even without spraying for
leaf-spotting diseases...". Mine defoliate before anything else with
terrible leaf problems. It is dramatic. I can send photos off-list if
anyone wants to see. Anyone else have similar experiences?
3. Is 'Dabney' self-fertile?
4. Finally a question 'specially for Ed. I was reading Brooks Drain's
"Southern Pear Breeding" (ASHS, 1955) and noticed this footnote on page
301: "Records previous to 1941 were kept by ... and H.L. Fackler." Is
this kinfolk of yours or are ya'll a pair of unrelated pear experts?