Such good information--thank you! I've spent the last few days researching pear varieties. I'm still really conflicted and feel like I need more information. I'll post what I've found out so far.
Ecos Pear:
https://oikostreecrops.com/products/edible-fruits/ecos-pear/ Has hybrid vigor, not time tested so we don't know how long living it might be, seedling, edible, unique. What is the branch angle?
Orcas: Edible, from my area, disease resistant, tasty. Does well at my mom’s. Found one on a Winter Nellis, standard sized rootstock!
https://www.rollingrivernursery.com/products/190/34/fruit-trees/pears-european-pyrus-communis/orcas-detail But, Winter Nellis isn't as resistant to Fireblight and other problems as OH-F rootstocks (
https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/pnw341.pdf)
Seedling of my mom’s Pear: Could be a mix of Orcas/Barlett/Japanese pear. Seedling vigor, has family heritage, no idea WHAT the fruit will taste like. Be a long time until it fruits.
Keiffer Pear: Variety has been around for over 250 years. Well known to have long lifespan. Edible, but not very tasty fresh. Disease resistant. What’s the branch angle? Self-pollinating and will pollinate our other future pears. Is a mix of Asian "sand" pear and European pears.
Seckle Pear: Very tasty. Small fruit and relatively small tree, even when on standard rootstock. The first tree lived at least 140 years (
https://snowshoebees.com/2016/09/17/the-seckel-pear/), so hopefully grafted trees would live a long time, too. From the 1700s, can get on standard rootstock
https://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees/pear-trees/seckel-pear. Is an Asian/European cross.
Maxine/Starking Delicious Pear: Disease resistant, Asian/Bartlett mix like Keifer, but tasty. No idea about it's lifespan or branch angle.
Still need to research Bartlett, Bosc, Blake's Pride, D'Anjou, Red D'Anjou, and Hood. Could I get a bartlet as an ungrafted seedling, since they use them for seedlings? Would it be as tasty and disease resistant as the grafted Bartletts?
One thing that concerns me about pears is that they supposedly tend to have problems because of their shallow branch angle. The limbs break in storms or under snow or from freezing rain. I could probably train them, but I really was hoping to let this tree--like my son's--take it's natural shape. Are their pear trees that naturally have better branch angles?
Thank you again, for all your help. If you have any more knowledge or
experience to share, I'd love to hear it!
And, as for it needing a pollinator, we plan on planting at least one, if not two other pears in a year or two, when funds allow. THose will likely be semi-dwarfs, so they'll be fruiting around the same time as whatever tree we plant for my daughter.