At 08:34 PM 5/22/03 -0400, Jim Lewis wrote:

Thanks.

If I had looked it up first . . . Anyway, Dirr (Woody Landscape
Plants) says "Pyrus kawakamii, Evergreen Pear, is a small,
rounded evergreen tree that offers abundant white flowers in
late
winter or early spring. tends toward a large shrub and the
branches droop and sprawl. Used on the West Coast, particularly
California. I have seen a few trees on the Georgia coast but
they were decimated by fireblight. The branches may develop
thorns. Fruit is globose, glabrous, about 1/2" across and
inedible."

So Dirr considers "kawakamii" to be a species and says it IS
susceptible to fireblight. ???

I have Pyrus pyrifolia, Chinese Sand Pear, but Dirr says nothing
about its susceptibility. I've has a couple in pots for 8 years
or so now and have only had black spot disease on the leaves.
Easily controllable.

jim

Jim

That's not my experience. I live in pear country. Most of the US supply of
pears comes from Mendocino and Lake Counties. Fireblight is a well known
problem here. I have grown two ornamental pears, Harbin Pear, Pyrus
ussuriensis which is grown as an understock and Pyrus kawakami. Harbin pear
gets fireblight at the drop of a hat. I have lost some really nice ones and
have given up on it. On the other hand, I ignore P. kawakami and it never
dies. It gets some spots on the leaves but they never amount to much. Nina
had hers for years until it succumbed this year, she can tell you more
about growing it on the East Coast.


Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++