I love my Korean Giant Asian pear. Very large, juicy, sweet fruit on a productive tree. -Glenn

Hi, Fruitmaven, talking about running out of space, we are in the same boat!. I am in chicago, I grow Asia pear in my back yard. I am current grow 3 in 1 grafted from Miller. I planted last year and bloomed this year, a lot of flowers.

keep in mind that Asia pear is not grow for its sweetness but for its juicy crispy texture. If you like sweet pear, Asian pear is not a good choice.

One of my friends grow Olympic Giant , which is high on my wish list. Olympic tastes sweeter and juicy, Nijuseiki is juicier but less sweet... If you have Asia market or Korean store nearby, the very big pears ,pemmalo size, over one lb each they sale , usually are the Olympic Giant. Some catalog says it need pollinator, some said it is self fertile. I guess it all has to do with how many pears you want it grow in a tree. Asian pears need to be thinned anyway. My friend only grow one Asian pear tree in the yard and I had been telling her that she needs a pollinator until she offered me a Naval orange size pear last fall from her third year Olympic Giant tree. I guess reality beats text books. I am since very quite about pollinator. It is a later ripe, sometime in Sept here. Another good thing about Olympic Giant is that it can be stored for a long time. I ordered my tree last Spring before tasted my friends' Asian pear in the fall. Too late to change my mind but to add one more tree. Overall, I think Olympic giant has better taste . if I only grow one Asian pear, Olympic Giant is the one I will grow.

Olympic sounds interesting, but with it ripening in late October I worry it won't have time to fully ripen. We get our last frost in late September, and have had Halloween snow before. That's why I was looking at August-September ripening Asian pears. I will have to try some Asian grocery stores to see if pears are available there. A speciality fruit shop today said, "We don't have any, it's not quite the season yet."

Hi There,

Even though I grow Asian pears in the East, I'd like to share with you my backyard experience of Asian pears.
I grow Olympic (aka Korean Giant), 20th Century (aka Nijisseiki), Shinko and Hosui.

I can't speak about Hosui because I just planted it last year. The first three have fruited. Olympic fruit is big (if you thin hard), sweet and juicy. 20th Century is smaller, juicy but not as sweet. Both of them are keepers for me. Shinko is small and bland. I grow it because it's disease resistant. If the taste does not improve in a year or two, I probably will take it out since I don't have a lot of space.

My Asian pear trees are not small. They are quite tall. In 3 years, Korean Giant and 20th century have grown over 15 feets. I consider a 12ft or under tree a tree small. Anything over that is not small. If I have not "trimmed" them. They would be 20 ft by now. I really should not say I trimmed them since I have just tried to learn how to prune different fruit trees I have. Let's say, if I have not head cut them rather severely these past two years, I would need a ladder to pick the fruits.

As for pollination, two different varieties of pears that bloom about the same time probably will maximize fruit setting. I was told that European pears can cross pollinate with Asian pears. If your neighborhood have other pears (Asian or Euro), you probalby can get away with planting just one tree. Good luck

Hi Fruitmaven-
My Korean Giant (Aka Olympic) pear's were ready/ripe right around October 1st here in 6b. Hope that helps,
-Glenn

Hi Fruitmaven,

My Korean Giant pears were ripe anywhere from around mid to late Oct. Last year, I picked the last few after Nov 1. I used to think my zone was 5 until I saw a new zone map. It put my area (central MA) in zone 6 a. It can get very cold and snowy here, too.

All my Asian pears are semi-dwarf.

Thank you for all of the information! My zone just changed from 4b to 5a, so I am a bit colder than mamuang and glenn_russel. It is good to know that I would have to prune them quite hard to keep them to 10'. I am thinking of just getting one variety now, and seeing if the Bradford pear ornamental tree on my street would pollinate it. Lee Reich (fruit author and farmdener extraordinaire) recommends Chojuro, and I know his climate in NY is similar to mine. I'd still love to hear people's opinions on Asian pears they have tasted!

Chojuro has more flavor and aroma than Nijuseiki, if only compare these two varieties.

Shinko are sweet if left on the tree LONG after most other asian pears. I sorta forgot 3 of them on the tree the first years so when I finally picked them they were very sweet. The one I picked earlier wasnt as sweet. I prefer Hosui which has a wonderful taste and ripens earlier.

I love Chojuro. Hosui also. The store bought olympics were not that good, and am waiting for next year to sample my own. I have shinseiki and it's good if you don't mind them bland and juicy. I prefer the russetting types. I now have Drippin honey, Mishirasu, and Yoinashi. I also want Atago, an early russeting type, Shin-li and Daisui-li, new patented releases.
Anybody know more about Atago, Shin-li and Daisui-li?
Noogy

Just harvested my Asian pears. They are sweet but can be sweeter if I left them on the trees for another 2 weeks.... want to beat the squirrals. When it is fully ripe, the squirrals can pick them all in single night and take a bite on each pears and left the rest on the ground...
Liked the flavor of both types , but I have tasted home grow Korean Giant which is equal sweetness but far larger in size, and keep longer in storage.

Here is another one

Oly,
Nice looking fruit. You gotta get rid of those varmints! You've come too far to not let them hang just a little bit longer. My chojuro, when golden, are excellent. I won't see anything this year. Freeze damage was total.

Have any of you guys tried growing shinsiki pears?
I fluked out and got a real nice little shinsiki at homedepot for 1 penny lol
I don't even know why or how homedepot got this tree they are not rated for my zone but are rated very winter hardy. It survived a zone 3/4 winter no problem . It did suffer sun damage (armature mistake) this winter I will protect the beautiful little tree with burlap and paint it white.

I just thought I'd share my experience on how hardy these trees are . Know body really knows how hardy they are till they try. We had some minus 25 weather with wind chills of minus 40 for brief durations.

I'd expect mine to fruit next summer. I've actually found my variety in stores and they can be sweet. And are very large also. They are very juicy crispy and I'd bet that if left on the trees longer they will sweeten. They always pick fruit unripe to ship out . They can't commercially ship out ripe fruit I've had some very sweet Asian pears that taste better than any pear or apple .

I haven't grown Asian pears yet but I've been researching. I found Shinseiki listed as cold hardy on NGR-Corvalis website:

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Shinseiki'

This photo is Mishirasu. I love asian pears. I grow Hosui, Hamese, Olympic, Chojuro, Shiseiki. Each ripening in succession so they are all the best but my favorites are Shinseiki and Chojuro.

I have Shiseiki in my yard as well. It is very juicy and crunchy but the flavor is not as good as Chojuro. One of my Chojuro was kind under stress and ripe earlier than the rest. When it fell off the tree by the wind. It tasted very sweet!.
I think Raintree carries Mishirasu. I am always wondering what it tasted like?

I've been perusing the GRIN database and they have one called 'Okolo': Okolo (PI 541908).-Originated in Brookings, South Dakota, by N.E. Hansen, South Dakota Agriculture Experiment Station. Introduced in 1940. Open-pollinated seedling of Pyrus ussuriensis. Fruit: diam. about 2 1/4 inches; pyriform; skin light yellow with minute russet dots; stem long and stout; flesh white, firm, juicy, with delicious flavor. Tree: bears well. - Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties

I am tempted to try grafting it. I don't know if they distribute to the public or not.

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Okolo'

I noticed in the link that milehighgirl sent that Shinseiki grew in St. Cloud, MN, for several years. That is north of my home, so is probably in zone 3. Now I am curious about Asian pears, which I have never tasted. Can one graft them to a European pear? Will they cross-pollinate with a European pear? This year I got my first pear (squirrels got the other two pears) from a Dwarf Clapps Favorite planted in 2006. I am still waiting on a Luscious, Summercrisp, and Flemish Beauty all planted in 2008. Would they work to pollinate it? I know it is a bit foolish to plant things that are of questionable hardiness, but I don't always follow my own advice. Northwoodswis

Asian pear tastes great.You can grafted Asian pear onto European pear. Not sure it will survives in zone 3, maybe a shelted area. But reliablly sets fruits every year might be a problem.

Asian pear tastes great.You can grafted Asian pear onto European pear. Not sure it will survives in zone 3, maybe a shelted area. But reliablly sets fruits every year might be a problem.

Asian pear tastes great.You can grafted Asian pear onto European pear. Not sure it will survives in zone 3, maybe a shelted area. But reliablly sets fruits every year might be a problem.

8-29-2015 I am by Oxford Wisconsin,I try to keep my 100-150 Large Korean Asian Pear tree's fruit on the tree to 28-26degrees 28 they for sure won't freeze & really color & sugar up nice.My Chojuro taste like Butterscotch (rum), I wish when I planted 100 nijisseiki that they would have been Chojuro, Niitaka tastes sugary & has a nice size, just planted 45 yoinashi, 45 hosui, 45 atago. Spray your tree's early with Bonide copper fungicide to kill over wintering bacteria, I'm going to be using Kocide 3000,Kocide 3000 doesn't leave a copper build up in the soil and keeps your soil healthier, if you use agristrep during bloom time to fight off firelight you take the chance of mutating the bacteria .I have sprayed agristrep to the fresh cut limb when trying to shut down fireblight so it was absorbed into the cambium layer,I have done this in some instances when I cut the whole tree just above the graft to shut down fireblight & now have a 12-15 foot Large Korean ,when I read winter sunburn I believe the black if that's what your looking at is fireblight, you need to get ahead of this before the sap starts moving up & down the tree when the snow melts. If you still see black under the bark when your cutting out fireblight then cut back even further. Always put up to 10% bleach 90% water in a spray bottle & spray your cutter or saw & let this flash off the bacteria for 30 seconds before moving to another tree don't walk the disease through your orchard no matter how large it is! Thanks. NASHI Westfield Wisconsin (Adams County Nursery Of Aspers )get your catalog & buy with friends or yourself for better pricing & size by caliper & you can mix varieties ,or look online