Growing Asian Pears | October Tasting in the Sonoran Desert

[@rg2613]

excellent video. Thanks

[@DLittle82]

Thanks for sharing. The birds by me go through my double organza bagged pomegranates.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

You are welcome! Tenacious birds! You might try aluminum mesh bags instead; those even stop many rodents

[@alaskanprideseafoods1766]

Thank you for another good video! Have you eve tried the Waddell Giant pear? I have about a 1 year old tree from RSI Growers that really handled the summer well and is definitely now putting on the fall flush.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Thanks! I've never tried that one but sounds great. RSI has great rootstocks for our area. I hear good things about Korean Giant too but my graft of that did not take well. I may try some new grafts next year.

[@douglashart5059]

Sorry I'm a little late to this one. Do you know if I need a pollinator for my TSU Li here in Phoenix?

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

TSU Li is not one that I have grown but it appears all the nurseries advertise it as self-fertile so you should be good. All my Asian Pears are loaded right now with fruit. I have found it takes APs a few years to produce well

[@douglashart5059]

@@EnlightenmentGarden That's good to know. The tree is 2.5 years old and has grown well. Just hasn't produced any fruit yet. Thanks, hopefully soon!

[@ChristopherARamsey]

Any thoughts on Chojuri? I’m planting that as I type 😝

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

I've heard very good things about that variety but have not grown it. It requires around 450 chill hours which is a bit higher than what we average in the Sonoran desert. Hope it does well for you!

[@ChristopherARamsey]

@@EnlightenmentGarden hope so too- I’m in central phx 🙏🏽🙏🏽❄️

[@fasmike]

What root stock did you graft onto? I had some bad luck with my first Asian pear, but I'm ready to try again.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

I purchased the original tree from Richard's Nursery in Phoenix as a 15-gallon already grafted as 20th century so I'm not sure what the actual rootstock is but technically I grafted the Tennosui and Shinseiki onto the 20th century (above the graft line). It was a Dave Wilson so it's on whatever they typically use as roostock.

[@UdhyakumarNallasamy]

Usually that's OHxF 333

[@ShinyInsanity]

Thanks for making this video. I'm waiting on my Asian pear trees to start producing and seeing yours growing healthy in PHX is encouraging. Where did you buy the Tennosui tree? I've never even heard of that variety before.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

You are welcome. I purchased the tree at Richard's nursery in Phoenix; it was a grafted 20th Century. The scion wood I used for putting on additional grafts such as Tennosui was sourced online from a company called Burnt Ridge Nursery. The scions are only $5 apiece. Grafting other varieties to your trees is a great way to try new varieties

[@ShinyInsanity]

@@EnlightenmentGarden - Thanks for the tip. I will check them out and see what scions they have available for grafting this spring.

[@alanpikku]

Where did you buy your Tennosui? I'm also in AZ and looking for one.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

I purchased the tree at Richard's nursery in Phoenix; it was a grafted 20th Century. The scion wood I used for putting on additional grafts such as Tennosui was sourced online from a company called Burnt Ridge Nursery.

[@alanpikku]

Thanks, I just ordered it. What is the recommended spacing on these? I was thinking 8 ft from my peach tree.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

@@alanpikku Pear trees tend to want to grow vertically. 8' is a good distance for backyard culture.

[@alanpikku]

Are the roots invasive?

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

No; not in my experience.

[@Nobadcasts]

I’m brand new into gardening. Never tried fruit from a tree lol. I’m not sure what me or my family would like. Do you know where in there Valley you can try different fruit? I don’t mind paying upfront it’s just I don’t know if any of us even like different varieties

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Hi! You may be able to find a farmer's market local to you. That's probably the closest you'll get to fresh off a tree but it will be seasonal and more typical fruit like peaches, apricots, citrus, apples, etc. For more exotic fruits, there is an Asian market called Lee Lee you can try. While each cultivar may bring some nuances, there generally are no striking differences. I would recommend going with proven varieties as not every variety does well in our growing conditions even if it's top-rated on taste. Check out the website for RSI Growers (in Glendale). Reid lists only proven varieties for our area and provides a good description of each type. He's also an excellent source to purchase fruit trees from. He puts them on the correct rootstock. Hope that helps.

[@Nobadcasts]

@@EnlightenmentGarden thank you so much for the wonderful information. Hope your garden keeps doing well. Can’t wait to start with my trees.I’m on the East side