Anyone grow and use seckel pears vs bartlett? vs. crabapple?
l pinkmountain
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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bcskye
4 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years agoRelated Discussions
figs VS cherries in MA.
Comments (15)Lucy, If you want to plant the tree for show, too, you probably don't want to net it. Otherwise, some sour cherry trees are naturally small (no more than 15'). Birds may leave some cherries for you if you don't net. There are a number of persimmon that are hardy to zone 6. Check England nursery or JF & E nursery. I know Logee's. It's known for exotic tropical and subtropical plants. If you want fruit trees (I don't count fig as a tree), you'll be better off buying bareroot fruit trees from reputable fruit tree nurseries. Search this forum, there are many of them....See MoreEuropean pear tree, favorite for canning?
Comments (22)I also find that it is easy to wait too long to pick Harrow Delight and that it's probably because of being a summer ripening pear (same deal but more so with Tyson). Of course if I was more concerned about them I'd probably be more attentive- I think they start to change color here before they get over ripe. Harrow Delight has grown well for me once it recovers from the transplant. OHXF strains seem to be a bit sluggish in plugging in. Cut back the spurs and favor the most vegetative wood and it should get going. No pear I've grown is necessarily spray-free- at least here in the northeast. Pests can show up after many seasons and this has happened to me at many sites with pears. At my own site E. pears now require more effort than any other fruit I grow, although I haven't tried to sort out which might require less effort. My Harrow Sweet with an Aurora graft gets no special treatment (inconvenient location for spray) and so far does well, but has only been bearing for two years. The Warren pear has me intrigued although I've never grown it. I wonder why it isn't grown more. Does it take forever to come into bearing?...See MoreAdvice on apple & pear varieties
Comments (30)So after discussing it with my husband, we decided to drop the idea of growing pears - we both like them, but just don't eat enough of them, and if they'll have issues with not enough light, it's not worth it. We're still going to try for the apples, though. Current thinking is first one McIntosh type: McIntosh, Liberty, Jonamac, (Macoun, Cortland?) for my husband and his applesauce. :) Now we just have to decide which one. I think we're going to head out to an orchard to try the different varieties firsthand. Second, probably Zestar. I wish I knew more about how it tastes, though. I think it might be too late in the season to find any to try myself, though I did find a pick-your-own orchard that says they grow it on their website. Anyone have any personal impressions of it? Does it have a nice thin skin? I don't like tough skins (and that's a big reason I don't like Red Delicious). I was thinking of maybe having a third tree now we've decided no pears, and having it be Baldwin, since harvestman has seen it do ok with some shade, but I just read that it has a thick skin, so maybe I won't go in that direction after all... I don't know. I grabbed a bunch of apples from the grocery store to help me determine what we like the taste of best (since we haven't really tried many types), though many of them sound like they won't grow well here. Like I mentioned, we'll go apple picking soon to try some more. Of the ones we've tried so far, I really liked Braeburn, though it wasn't my husband's favorite. He thought it had a weird aftertaste. We both liked the flavor of the Fuji, but I thought the skin was a little too tough. He loved the McIntosh, of course, while I think the flavor is just so-so and wasn't a fan of the skin. I've changed my opinion on Ginger Gold and Golden Delicious. They're ok, but I think I prefer a crisper apple with a stronger flavor. My husband didn't even want to try any yellow or green apples, because he's weird. So yeah, still trying to figure out varieties. My friend said she's thinking of buying a pawpaw tree, so maybe I will have the chance to try some in a couple years. As far as cutting down trees - I don't dislike the ones we have, and I don't know if I'd want to cut them all down, but maybe I will get an arborist to take a look and see if any of them need to come down for reasons of safety or health of the trees. I kind of like how impressively tall they are. If only more light made it through somehow......See MoreHarrow Sweet, perfect home orchard pear
Comments (41)What I referred to as scion wood on this leaner is all perpendicular type top-growth (watersprouts ?). Looks to me as if the tree did a forced growth response for itself as one last flush of renewal growth in it's attempt to extend it's life. And ya harvestman, that thought was occurring to me as I typed my response last eve. I really do wish I had snitched one as a youngster. Didn't want to have to explain that one to pa though - HA! I will definitely inquire as to palatability when conversing with the current owners. The 6/7 or so fruits I saw hanging on it earlier this Fall seemed fairly bright yellow and with good size. Hence, my assumption towards it being a Bartlet or similar type. Then one day they were all mostly on the ground. Next time by they had all been gathered up. This tree is on a route that I regularly take traveling through town, so I have regular drive by looks at it....See MoreOlychick
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agol pinkmountain
4 years agoannie1992
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4 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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4 years agol pinkmountain
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years agosleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
4 years agol pinkmountain
4 years agoOlychick
4 years agoannie1992
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4 years agol pinkmountain
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4 years agoannie1992
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3 years ago
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