Hi all, This is my first post, so any help would be greatly appreciated! I planted a Korean Giant pear tree in my back yard 3 years ago and simply love it; the problem I am running into is that every variety of asian pear I can get to pollinate this tree, I'm finding it hard to find any here in Kansas and those that I do are insanely overpriced, seems to die within 2 months of planting. I've heard that certain late pollinating varieties of european pears will pollinate certain asian pear varieties. I also have heard that moon-glow pears are amazing pollinators. My question then is 2 fold will a moon-glow pear pollinate a Korean giant pear, and secondly if not are there any hardy relatively disease resistant trees that would? Thank you so much for your time and knowledge... Dave
Moonglow, Potomac, Seckel, Kiefer or Orient should work, as would a Japanese asian pear variety like Hosui. Cummins Nursery carries most or all of these. Here is an asian pear pollination chart. I'd probably try Potomac or Orient. 'Potomac' is descended from Moonglow and D'Anjou and is resistant to fireblight. 'Orient' is a hybrid of European and asian pear, is resistant to fireblight, and is partly self-fruitful (will bear fruit without another variety nearby to pollenize). Oh, and if a tree dies within so many months of planting (given proper care), you should be able to get a refund.
