Pear varieties for "Monument" trees in the extreme North

 

Selected by Barb Gilmore, a researcher at the USDA Research Station in Corvallis, Oregon. 

I sent the station a question regarding what modern varieties are suitable for "monument" trees, that is, might be able to survive 100 years.

Barb took the question on and invested a great deal of time answering my question. She also asked her staff since they spend a great deal of time in the collection and have been known to sample a pear or two.

The rough grouping by extreme North, extreme South and In the Middle are mine.

- Miney (PI 617572).-Originated in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, by Canada Dept. Agr., Research Station. Introduced in 1947. Zuckerbirne x Clapp Favorite; selected in 1930. Fruit: large; flavor pleasing; quality good. Tree: fairly vigorous; hardy at Ottawa; resistant to fire blight. Recommended for home gardens in eastern Ontario and Quebec.<P><P>- Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties<P><P>Of a group of Ottawa varieties (Enie, Menie, Miney, Moe and Phileson), Moe is the earliest, but it lacks in size and in quality when processed. Miney is the most satisfactory for processing. This is followed by Phileson. In taste panel tests the processed Miney was fully equal if not superior to the commercial pack of Flemish Beauty. Miney should not be stored longer than two weeks and maximum quality is obtained by conditioning the pears immediately after picking. At Ottawa the optimum picking date for Miney is late August and for Phileson early to mid-September. - Spangelo, Phillips Blair (ca.1940)

- Moe (PI 541347).-Originated in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, by Canada Dept. Agr. Research Station. Introduced in 1947. Zuckerbirne x Clapp Favorite; selected in 1930. Fruit: size medium; quality good; early ripening. Tree: very hardy at Ottawa; quite resistant to fire blight. No longer recommended for home gardens in eastern Ontario and Quebec. - Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties

-Summercrisp (CPYR 2823). An early season pear with good resistance to fire blight; among the hardiest tested at University of Minnesota. Originally received by University of Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm, Excelsior, in 1933 from John Gaspard, Caledonia, Minn. Released in 1987 by J.J. Luby, D.S. Bedford, E.E. Hoover, S.T. Munson, W.H. Gray, D.K. Wildung, and C. Stushnoff. Parentage unknown; ancestry includes P. ussuriensis and P. communis. Tested as Gaspard #5 and N33201. Not patented. Fruit: pyriform; 60 to 80 mm. diam., 80 to 100 mm, long; skin green with red blush and prominent red lenticels. Flesh crisp, juicy, mild flavor. Stores for 6 weeks under refrigeration; develops internal browning when allowed to ripen before storage. Not suitable for canning. Tree: medium size; conical shape; blooms with Patten and Parker; requires cross-pollination. -- Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties.<P><P>Cold hardy; successfully fruited in Anchorage, Alaska. -- Paul Lariviere, 2006

-Bantam (PI 617554). -Originated in Excelsior, Minnesota, by University of Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm. Introduced in 1940. Parentage unknown; seed planted 1914; tested as Minnesota 3. Fruit: small; ovate; skin green, blushed red; flesh tender, melting, juicy, sweet, quality good; ripens in early September. Tree: very hardy; resistant to fire blight; upright-spreading; productive. -- Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties. <P><P>Size and dessert quality in Ohio unsatisfactory from commercial viewpoint. Reported to be hardy and very resistant to fire blight in Minnesota. -- F.S. Howlett, Ohio Ag. Experiment Station, 1957.

- Patten (PI 541241). -Originated in Charles City, Iowa, by the late C.G. Patten. Named and Introduced in 1922 by H.L. Lantz, Iowa State College. Orel 15 x Anjou; selected probably about 1915. Fruit: large; juicy; if picked 7 to 10 days before maturity, it ripens well and has excellent quality for dessert; fair as a canned product. Tree: among the hardiest of largefruited varieties; valuable only in the colder areas of the Upper Mississippi Valley where Bartlett, Anjou, and other standard varieties cannot be grown; moderately resistant to fire blight. A good variety for the home orchard and for local markets. - Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties

- Luscious (PI 541322).-Originated in Brookings, South Dakota, by Ronald M. Peterson, Agriculture Experiment Station. Introduced in 1973. SD E31 x Ewart; cross made in 1954, selected in 1967, tested as South Dakota 67SIl. Fruit: size medium; pyriform. with broad neck; skin thick, tender, attractive rich yellow with occasional small scattered brown russeted areas, sometimes with a pink blush; flesh light yellow, firm, fine texture, melting, very juicy, flavor similar to Bartlett, quality good; ripens 25 Sept. at Brookings; recommended as a dessert variety. Tree: size medium; broad-oval; vigorous; moderately productive and moderately hardy at Brookings; shows more tolerance to fire blight than most varieties, adapted to parts of the northern Great Plains; glossy, green foliate turns red in the fall. - Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties <P><P>Cold hardy; successfully fruited in Anchorage, Alaska. -- Paul Lariviere, 2006

- Southworth (PI 541350). Scionwood brought from near Duluth, Minnesota, by a Great Lakes captain sometime between 1900-10 and grafted on two trees at his home near Massena, N.Y. Introduced in 1968 by Fred L. Ashworth, St. Lawrence Nurseries, Heuvelton, N.Y. Brought to Ashworth's attention in 1967 by Frank Southworth of Massena, N.Y., present owner of the property. Parentage unknown. Fruit: medium large, as large as Bartlett; shaped like Duchesse d'Angouleme; skin green, rarely blushed; flesh has very little grit cells, flavor good, not as sweet as Bartlett; seeds per fruit average about three; ripens 20-30 Sept. in New York; some fire blight resistance. Tree: medium size; upright, vigorous; extremely hardy; productive; self-fertile. Original trees are still strong and vigorous, showing no sign of winter injury. -- Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties.<P><P>The Southworth is possibly my best 'find' of any fruit genus thus far, as it fulfills more of real need than any of my others. I have grafted more of it than anything else this year. Two trees of this pear were grafted by a Great Lakes skipper about 1908. They have not winter killed since (winters to -45 F during that time). Nor has it blighted; and it bears fruit almost as good as those offered in the stores. It seems to bear from its own pollen. I surmise the captain learned of the pear from a Finn or Norwegian and arranged to have propagating wood sent or brought to him. His name -- I think -- was Benton; but the Southworths bought the place from him, and Frank, the second Southworth owner called it to my attention, so I named it Southworth. -- Fred L. Ashworth, Route 2, Heuvelton, New York. North American Pomona 9:20. October, 1969.

- Harrow Delight (PI 541431). -Introduced for early fresh market and home garden use. Originated at Research Station., Harrow, Ontario, Canada by H.A. Quamme, Agr. Canada. Introduced in 1982. Purdue 80-15 (Old Home x Early Sweet) x Bartlett. Cross made by R.E.C. Layne, Research Station., Harrow; selected in 1973; tested as HW-603. Fruit: 5% smaller than that of Bartlett; ovate-pyriform, shallow, broad basin; flesh quality high, juicy, grit equal to that of Bartlett, flavor as good as that of Bartlett but distinctly different; skin light-green to yellow-green color with 20% to 30% covered with a light blush, no russeting; processed fruit inferior to that of Bartlett and only a little better than that of Kieffer; ripens 2 weeks before Bartlett. Tree: spreading; vigor moderate; productive; leaves ovate with rounded base, leaf serrations indistinct; flowers white; resistance to fire blight slightly less than Old Home. Cross fertile with Bartlett, Bosc, Anjou, and Harvest Queen. - Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties <P><P>Cold hardy; successfully fruited in Anchorage, Alaska. -- Paul Lariviere, 2006

- Nova - Large, round, good quality fruit with melting juicy flesh. Can be used green or ripe. Hangs well without premature drop. Appears to have some fire blight resistance. Ripens in mid-September. Hardy to -50 F. Discovered in northern New York State. -- Fruit, Berry and Nut Inventory, Seed Savers Exchange 2001.<P><P>Developed and introduced by Bill MacKently, St. Lawrence Nurseries, Potsdam, New York. Precocious, self-fertile. Named after his daughter, Nova MacKently. <P><P>Cold hardy; successfully fruited in Anchorage, Alaska. -- Paul Lariviere, 2006