Pyrus pyrifolia
Origin: Guanxi, China
Improvement status: Cultivated
Seeds per packet: ~20
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
Asian pears (sometimes called Chinese pears, Japanese pears, Sand pears, or some combination of those) are the crunchy, juicy, delicious, usually russet-skinned Asian cousins of the European pear. They have a crisp, sometimes grainy flesh, and are significantly more juicy than their European counterparts. While they are starting to show up more in US markets, they are still something of a niche item. But among immigrant communities, especially East Asian-descended communities, Asian pears are very much sought-after. It's not unusual to see them in Korean or Chinese supermarkets, carefully wrapped in tissue paper and sold for upwards of five dollars per fruit — especially around holiday times. They are delicious eaten fresh out of hand, but can also be used to make all of the same sorts of processed products that you might make out of apples or pears (juice, cider, wine, syrup, sauce, fruit leather, pie, jam, jelly, etc.).
Most Asian pear fruits are round, not "pear-shaped", and the skin can be not just tan ("russet"), but also green, pale yellow, or almost white. There are innumerable cultivars, most of which are not available in the US, and they can also be hybridized with European pears, yielding some very interesting results (a farmer in Maine has spent the past three decades experimenting with Asian-European pear hybrids, which we've had the pleasure of tasting). By growing from seed, you will have the chance to taste a never-before-tasted new Asian pear!
Our seeds come from Guangxi, China, and were imported by the good folks at Sheffield's Seeds in Locke, NY.
GROWING TIPS: Soak seeds for 24 hours, then cold-moist stratify in the fridge for 90 days. Plant immediately after removing from the fridge, protect from rodents, and plant in a sunny, well-drained position. Most plants are self-pollinating, though pollination is improved with multiple individual plants flowering at once.
NOTE: The photos here are all public domain photos of Asian pears. We're not sure what the pears will look like that grow from these trees.
