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scottfsmith

Any fans of Tsu Li, Ya Li or Sueri Chinese pears?

Scott F Smith
12 years ago

I am thinning out my pear stand, I just chopped down a dozen trees this evening. They were only 2' apart in 6 hours of sun, don't do that :-)

Does anyone have strongly positive opinions about any of the three Chinese pears in the title above? They take longer to fruit than the Japanese ones for some reason and I have not fruited any of them yet. But, I also have not heard many people interested in growing them so am wondering if I should just not take them out and keep my excellent Japanese ones instead (Hosui, Chojuro, Yoinashi, Kosui, Shinsui, etc). I have one very nice Chinese type which is a UC Davis breeding program fruit, Shin-Li. It is a very late (for asian) crisp mild pear which I am definitely keeping. I also have several of the Chinese fragrant pear types which have not fruited yet. The Chinese ones tend to be more mild I believe.

Scott

Comments (9)

  • denninmi
    12 years ago

    I had a Ya Li tree for almost 20 years. I got it from Raintree around 1990, and it just died the summer before last. I wouldn't plant another one -- it was a prolific bearer, but the fruit was small and bland. Even thinning didn't help with the flavor, although it did make somewhat larger pears, but still on the small size. It was a highly ornamental tree, with the bright yellowish ripening pears making a beautiful contrast with the burgundy autumn foliage. But tasted like Kleenex.

  • bob_z6
    12 years ago

    I'm not a big fan of asian pears in general, but Ya Li rank at the bottom. My wife loves them (she grew up eating them in China) and sometimes brings them home from Chinatown, so I've tried them a couple times.

    They are large and the insides are fairly sweet and juicy to the point of watery. The flesh is softer than most other asian pears. Peeled, I've eaten them and thought "eh- not that bad, but definitely not good". The skin had a fairly unpleasant taste. I'm not not sure if it has that off the tree or if it was picked up in the shipping/storing.

  • Scott F Smith
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks, Ya Li has about an hour left to live. I will probably take out Tsu Li as well. Sueri is a Chinese pear more like the Japanese ones and I may give it a stay of execution. The Japanese had a very good breeding program going in the 20th century and I think they improved a lot on the Chinese pears then. A similar thing happened to European pears in the 19th century in Belgium and France -- the majority of modern Euro varieties can be traced to pears bred there.

    Scott

  • swvirginiadave
    12 years ago

    I have to agree with bob for the most part about Ya Li. Very mild flavor, not the butterscotch-like taste of most of the japanese. My wife likes them--says they remind her of juicy fruit gum. My Tsu Li hasn't fruited yet, but looks like it may next year.

  • Scott F Smith
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I took out Tsu Li already, heres hoping its no good :-)

    I took out about 15 pears so went from about 1.6' per pear to 2.5'. Things look much better!

    Scott

  • lucky_p
    12 years ago

    Tsu Li was the sorriest Asian pear I've fruited. Not much to recommend it.
    Dasui Li, and another(not Ya Li)I grafted some years back, have yet to fruit for me - but I'm not strapped for space, so I'll leave 'em, for now.

  • Monyet
    12 years ago

    Dasui Li,misirusu,Shin li is what i grow. Shin Li died 3 years ago to fireblight.These tree's were planted 2002.Mishirusi is also suspectable of fireblight have to watch this one close.Dasui li is a good healthy tree and not bad tasting but need to be thin-out to get good size fruit.Mishirasu is a smaller tree but very large fruits, it is a keeper for sure.Warren pear finnaly fruiting after 8 long years,actually worth the wait. Got about a couple of dozens,excellent!

  • pinc06
    11 years ago

    Hi all

    Found this old thread by searching for YaLi asian pear. I bought some at a high end fruit store recently and fell in love with Ya Li. Granted they need to be fully ripe to develop full flavor, but this is the only asian pear I've tried that has tart as more than just a hint of flavor near the core. Taste varied greatly with the 7 I bought. Only 3 had that wonderful sweet tart fully complex flavor. Based on seed size the fruit that was picked later was the best, the ones that were just mildly tart had small juvenile seeds compared the the large plump seeds found in the best fruit.

    so having found a new variety I must have wanted to ask for feedback on ease of growth etc for the Ya Li. I'd also like to hear other folks experience with Daisui Li as I have one that is entering 3rd leaf for me. First year the fruit were few but huge, with a very simple plain old pear flavor. I'm hoping that if I let them hang longer prepicking they will develop better flavor. Persimmon Bob, love to hear about DL's flavor. Mine has also been a healthy but brittle slow growing tree for me. Skipped fruiting year 2 but looks ready to grow many fruit this season.

    Pam in cinti

  • lucky_p
    11 years ago

    Pam
    Looking back at my previous response, I now realize that I'd not consulted my orchard map.
    Ya Li - while it did take a long time to come into bearing - has fruited in '11 and '12 - and I like it; while not quite as tasty as Chojuro or Hosui, it ripens after the other Asian pears here are done, so it's a welcome addition. I will be grafting more this coming season.

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