Ripe pears are so sweet and aromatic. It is impossible to refuse them, because even the sight of these fruits stimulates the appetite. Imported pears can be bought in stores, but their quality is often questioned. At the same time, there is no more useful fruit than the one grown with your own hands in your own garden. Therefore, every year, owners of household plots purchase seedlings and carefully care for them in anticipation of the first harvest. So that it does not disappoint, you need to choose the right variety with the desired characteristics and, when growing a fruit tree, follow the basic rules of its cultivation. Today the object of attention in our article will be the “Honey” pear, because this particular variety is famous for the taste and external characteristics of the fruit, thanks to which it finds many admirers among gardeners.
Description of Honey pear variety
Honey pear is a late autumn variety. It was bred at the Crimean experimental station, in honor of which it has another name - Crimean Honey.
The tree is medium-sized, with a not too dense crown of an inverse pyramidal shape. Fruit ovaries usually appear on ringlets and fruit twigs.
The branches of the Honey Pear are literally strewn with large fruits
The fruits are very large - the average weight is 300–340 g, but individual pears grow up to 500 g. The surface is lumpy and slightly ribbed, with a thin and dry skin. They are colored greenish-yellow with a brownish (rust-like) blush.
The pulp is white with a creamy tint, tender and juicy, with a very pleasant sweet taste with slight sourness and noticeable oiliness. The aroma is pronounced. The fruits contain quite a lot of sugars - about 10.1% and a large amount of vitamin C (5.9 mg per 100 g). It is believed that this pear increases the human body’s immunity to infectious diseases.
Huge pears seem to glow with warm sunlight
A variety of the variety is Honey Columnar. The trees of this pear are up to 2 m high. They have a straight trunk, without branches, with branches tightly pressed to the trunk. The fruits are oval-shaped, yellow with an orange blush, weigh up to 400 g, very sweet (“honey” taste), with white melting pulp. Due to their compactness, these trees can be planted at intervals of 1 m. There are 5 varieties of Columnar Honey. The ripening periods are different - from late summer to winter.
Thanks to its compact size, the columnar pear does not require much space
In addition to central Russia, Honey is suitable for cultivation in the North Caucasus region and the Moscow region.
Reviews from gardeners
Valeria, 54 years old, Moscow
The tree grows very quickly. I planted it in a hole with fertile soil, watered it, and formed a crown. Already in the second year it bloomed. I then left two ovaries and got pears measuring more than 0.5 kg each, and in the third year I already harvested a decent harvest. The first time I let the pears ripen completely on the tree - the fruits turned out very tender and juicy. Now I collect them slightly unripe for storage and leave some on the tree to eat immediately, within two weeks.
Alexander, 62 years old, Rostov
My grandchildren's favorite fruit - they love picking their own pears, and I love that three trees take up as much space as one or two would normally require. They are unpretentious in care, require minimal attention, and the harvest is enough for three families of children until the end of the New Year holidays.
Marina, 44 years old, Smolensk
My Honey has been wintering well for eight years now, she doesn’t get sick, but for prevention I spray it “for company” with others. For the winter I whiten it, sprinkle it with sawdust and tie the trunk with spruce branches. Every year I collect a large harvest: enough to put in the cellar - it lies until mid-winter, and I make jam, and there is even some left over for sale.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages:
- early entry into fruiting (3–5 years);
- high and regular yield (80–100 kg per tree);
- increased frost resistance (tolerates temperatures from -25 to -28°C) and resistance of flowers to spring frosts;
- unpretentiousness to environmental conditions;
- increased resistance to diseases, for example, moniliosis and clasterosporiasis;
- good taste of the fruit, its keeping quality and resistance to transportation.
Flaws:
- some heterogeneity of fruits with numerous ovaries;
- weakening of the tree and a decrease in its winter hardiness with large harvests;
- not suitable for growing in cold regions.
Landing rules
Like most pears, Honey Pear is only partially self-fertile. Therefore, to ensure a good harvest, pollinating pears with the same flowering periods should be planted nearby, for example, Miraculous, Tauride, Bere Ardanpon or Bere Bosc.
Photo gallery: Honey Pear pollinators
Variety Miracle
Variety Tavricheskaya
Variety Bere Ardanpon
Bere Bosc variety
Plant the pear tree in such a way that you don’t have to replant it later. The landing site should be warm, sunny and protected from cold winds.
When transporting a purchased seedling, do not forget to protect its root system with packaging and also remove any existing leaves. If you purchased a seedling with a closed root system or in a container, there is no need to pick off the leaves.
Seedlings that have dried out during transportation must be immersed up to half the trunk in water for 1–2 days to restore their viability. Before planting, check the condition of the roots and branches; if damage is found, cut them back to healthy tissue.
The distance between two adjacent trees should be 4–5 m (minimum 3 m). Only columnar varieties can be planted at smaller intervals (1–1.5 m).
When trees touch their branches, mutual infection with diseases (for example, fruit rot) and pests occurs.
When planting in autumn, you cannot be late with the deadlines. The root system of the seedling must have time to take root before the onset of the first frost. You need to dig a hole up to 0.8 m deep (0.3–0.4 m in lowlands) and 1–1.5 m wide in the fall, even if you plan to plant in the spring.
The hole for planting pears is dug in advance
In the central regions, apple and pear trees should be planted in early autumn (late September and no later than 20–30 days before the soil freezes) or early spring (until mid-May).
Kolesnikov E.V.
Apple and pear. M.: Rosselkhozizdat, 1981
When preparing a hole, the turf layer should be discarded on one side, and the soil from the lower layers should be thrown to the other. The bottom of the hole is loosened to a depth of 20 cm, then a 1.5 m long planting stake is driven into the center and the hole is filled with fertilizers.
In the central and northern regions, local application of organic and mineral fertilizers into planting holes accelerates the entry of trees into fruiting and helps to increase productivity.
Kolesnikov E.V.
Apple and pear. Rosselkhozizdat, 1981
- If you fill the hole long before planting, you can take any organic fertilizer you like, for example, compost or humus in the amount of 3-4 buckets, with the exception of fresh manure.
- Instead, you can use rotted manure (25–30 kg) or lowland peat compost (25–50 buckets), which help improve the physical properties of the soil. Mineral fertilizers must be added to organic matter. Nitrogen-containing (60–110 g) will enhance growth processes, and superphosphate (900–1000 g) and potassium sulfate (250–300 g) will contribute to the proper development of the seedling and increase its winter hardiness.
- When planting in acidic soil, it is advisable to mix superphosphate with phosphate rock in a 1:2 ratio and add 2 kg of the mixture. It is better to replace store-bought potash fertilizers with regular ash (0.8–1 kg) and mix with lime (1:1).
To normalize acidity, add 0.25–0.3 kg of lime or 0.7–0.9 kg of crushed dolomite to acidic soils. Only dolomite or dolomitized lime, which contain magnesium, can be added to sandy ones.
Having filled the hole with the prepared mixture to 2/3 of the volume, sprinkle the fertilizer with a layer of soil and lightly compact the resulting mound.
Its further development depends on the correct planting of the seedling.
Boarding order
- Dip the root system of the seedling into a clay mash.
- Place the seedling in a hole on a soil mound, straighten the roots.
- Holding and slightly shaking the seedling, evenly cover the roots with soil and compact it.
- Tie the tree to a stake. Form an irrigation hole and provide the first watering (20–30 liters of water).
- Wait for the soil to settle and re-tie the seedling firmly to the stake.
Video: planting a pear seedling
The subtleties of caring for a pear tree
A little care instructions will help you maintain the health of your Honey Pear. Water the seedlings weekly in the grooves with 1 bucket of warm water. A tree that has entered the time of fruiting is watered only before and after flowering, using 20 liters for each square meter of tree trunk space.
Fertilizing is applied in 3 stages: in early spring, nitrogen-containing fertilizers, before and after flowering, potassium-phosphorus complexes, and before wintering, wood ash.
Honey pear, according to the description, is winter-hardy in the recommended region. Residents of the Middle Zone will have to prepare the tree for winter:
- after cleaning the tree trunk circle, carry out moisture-recharging irrigation;
- fill the space around the trunk circle with humus to a height of 25 cm;
- wrap the trunk to a height of 80-90 cm with breathable material - agrofibre, cardboard, spunbond;
- Wrap spruce branches around the “wrapper” for additional insulation and protection from mice.
Annual monitoring of the crown condition is carried out in early spring. Removing thickening branches, diseased and dry shoots promotes crown ventilation and increases productivity.
A honey pear on the site will become a real decoration. The totality of the advantages of the cultivar leaves gardeners in no doubt about purchasing a seedling of this particular variety.
Care
Proper care is a guarantee of a healthy plant.
Watering
Although the pear tree does not like excess moisture, it needs timely watering to keep soil moisture at a constant level. During the season, the pear needs to receive 4-5 waterings, 3-5 buckets per tree. In dry weather, water when the soil dries out. Young trees in the first 2–3 years after planting need more frequent moistening (in the first year - once a week).
The bulk of the tree's suction roots are located along the periphery of the crown, and accordingly, watering needs to be done.
Water is supplied into ring grooves laid around the tree or into temporary shallow (about 15 cm deep) furrows. The sprinkling method works well on pears. In industrial-scale gardens, drip irrigation is used.
Drip irrigation is a popular and economical method of irrigating pears.
Rules for pruning and crown formation
When caring for fruit trees, one of the most important operations is pruning - sanitary, shaping and thinning.
Pruning improves aeration and illumination of the crown, which increases yield. The procedure should be carried out in early spring or autumn, that is, before or after the end of the growing season. Although sometimes, if necessary, sanitary pruning is done in the summer.
The crown of a pear tree practically does not need to be formed. If desired, the tree is formed in the form of a free palmette or using the sparsely tiered method.
Palmette formation is recommended for gardens with limited space.
- For this crown shape, you should choose 8–12 skeletal branches directed along the row. The height of the formed tree is from 2 to 4 m, with a crown width of 1.5–3 m.
- It is recommended to maintain the angle of inclination of the lower branches at 45–55°, and for all others at 60–80°. Shoots growing on skeletal branches do not need to be bent; you only need to thin them out so that the interval between them is 15–30 cm.
- Shorten the central conductor every spring by 45–70 cm, counting from the base of the upper skeletal branch. All excess overgrowing branches and vertical shoots should be cut into a ring.
In just a few years, you can form an easy-to-maintain palmette crown.
To form a sparsely tiered crown, you need to select 4–5 of the strongest branches and cut all the remaining shoots into a ring. In the same way, the next year in the spring, the next tier is formed, excess growth is removed, and strong shoots are shortened by 1/4 or 1/3 of their length.
Video: pear pruning
Special care techniques
Sometimes, in addition to the usual care techniques, the pear needs special help. For example, if a tree is late in starting to bear fruit, you can correct this situation by bending the shoots or intertwining the branches. Bending the shoots is required to bring them into a horizontal position, since horizontal branches grow less intensively and begin to bear fruit faster.
The interlacing of branches helps to reduce their growth in length and increase the productivity of the buds. The pairwise interlacing of shoots brings their tops to an almost horizontal or drooping position. The procedure can be performed at any time.
Interlacing branches helps increase bud productivity
The earlier the weaving is done, the less time is needed to secure a stable position of the shoots. If you braid them in the second half of July, you can unbraid them within a week, at the end of August - after 2 weeks, at the end of October - only in the spring.
To thicken the trunk, furrowing is used, that is, longitudinal cutting of the bark. This operation activates the activity of the cambium, due to which active thickening of the trunk and branches begins. In some extreme situations (removing shoots from a young tree too early, exposure to toxic substances on the trunk, freezing and burns), the bark may harden and the branches stop gaining thickness. In this case, furrowing restores the normal functioning of the cambium. The cuts must be made to the cambium layer, without damaging the wood, securing the knife blade in a wooden block-limiter. In addition, this method will help prevent cracking of the bark, which occurs for various reasons.
Furrowing helps increase trunk volume
Fertilizers and rates of their application
It is customary to apply fertilizers to the space around the tree trunk. This is a relatively small area (with a typical circle diameter of 2–3 m), so relatively large doses of fertilizer are required. In this case, you need to pay attention to the fact that the required amount of fertilizer changes as the tree matures.
Approximate rates of fertilizer application per tree are:
- manure or compost from 10 to 40 kg/year;
- 33% ammonium nitrate - 60–270 g/year;
- 20% superphosphate - 150-300 g, 60% potassium chloride - 90-200 g/year.
The lower limit of the norm is used for young trees (up to 4–5 years), the upper limit is for trees older than 20 years.
For normal tree development, both organic and mineral fertilizers are needed. The most readily available organic fertilizers are humus, peat, manure, and bird droppings.
- It is also good to fertilize with mullein. It is prepared by fermenting a mixture of 1/3 manure with 2/3 water for 1–2 weeks. The finished mixture should be diluted 2-3 times before application.
- You can also feed the trees with diluted slurry (the norm is 1.5–2 liters per 1 m2 of trunk circle), to which superphosphate is added if desired (200 g is enough for 10 liters of slurry).
When using peat as an organic fertilizer, it is better to turn it into peat compost with the addition of 2 parts slurry to 1 part dry peat. Excellent compost can also be made from organic waste from your garden plot. Waste (weeds, tops, carrion, food debris, etc.) is placed in heaps or trenches, moistened with slurry or a solution of bird droppings, and covered with an 8–10 cm layer of earth or peat. The mass is composted during the summer months (if difficult to decompose materials are converted - pine needles or shavings, the process will take up to 2 years). When the waste becomes a loose dark mass without a putrid odor, the compost is considered ready. It is sifted and brought into the ground.
Compost is easy to make and easy to use, with good results.
Fertilizing can not be applied to the soil, but given in the form of spraying (foliar feeding). They usually produce good results as they quickly provide the trees with nutrients. The only danger is the possibility of burning the leaves. Therefore, before spraying, you should check the effect of the fertilizer solution on individual shoots. Pear trees are usually given nitrogen fertilizers in the form of foliar feeding - 0.1–0.2% urea solution in the spring and 0.3% in the summer-autumn period. Increasing the winter hardiness of pears is facilitated by foliar feeding in the last ten days of August or the first ten days of September with solutions of potassium sulfate (28–30 g/l) or superphosphate (35–50 g/l). If treatment is carried out in dry weather, the concentration of these solutions must be reduced so as not to cause leaf burn. Foliar feeding is applied in the morning or evening.
Preparing for winter
Since the Honey Pear has a fairly high frost resistance, it does not require any special preparation for winter, except for lime whitening to protect it from burns and wintering pests, as well as protection from rodents by tying the trunk with sharp materials.
Video: preparing young trees for winter
Subspecies of the proposed variety
Several columnar varieties have been bred based on Honey. All subspecies are assigned the labeling class “G”. The columnar tree has no horizontally extending branches, it grows up to 1.95 meters in height, all its branches are pressed against the main trunk. Columnar pear does not require crown formation.
See also
Description and characteristics of the pear variety Conference, planting and careRead
Subspecies of columnar pear:
- G1 - winter variety, fruits - yellowish, lumpy, weighing up to 245 grams;
- G2 - late autumn variety, fruits - yellowish-green, with an orange-brown blush, lumpy, weighing up to 205 grams;
- G3 - early autumn variety, fruits - bright yellow, weighing up to 405 grams;
- G4 - autumn variety, fruits - large, wide, weighing up to 305 grams;
- G5 is a late-summer variety, the fruits are yellowish-brown, weighing up to 245 grams.
Pests and diseases, methods of combating them
Although Honey is highly resistant to some diseases, for example, moniliosis. But there are other diseases that you should be wary of when growing this pear.
One of the most dangerous pear diseases is black cancer, which, if timely measures are not taken, can lead to the death of the tree.
Brown leaf spot or phyllosticosis, which causes premature leaf fall, is dangerous for young trees.
Table: pear diseases and their treatment
| Name | Manifestation of the disease | Prevention and treatment |
| Black cancer | Brownish-brown spots, sometimes with a cherry tint, appear on the bark of trunks and branches, which subsequently darken and are slightly pressed in. Circles with black bumps appear around the site of infection. |
|
| Phyllosticosis or brown leaf spot | In June, many small brown spots appear on the leaves, on which black spore pads then grow. |
|
Any tree that is most disease-resistant can be attacked by harmful insects, for example, scale insects, aphids, and hawthorn caterpillars.
Table: pests and their control
| Name | Pest manifestation | Control measures |
| Shchitovka | The appearance of reddish-brown tubercles on the trunk, main branches and shoots, from which dark juice is released when pressed firmly. Drying of the affected branches. |
|
| Aphid | The leaves curl into a tube, the petioles and stalks become deformed, and with severe damage, young shoots begin to dry out. The affected parts of the plant are covered with a layer of insects. |
|
| hawthorn | Caterpillars of the hawthorn butterfly eat leaves; for wintering they make nests from leaves, fastened with cobwebs. |
|
Photo gallery: learning to recognize pear diseases and pests
The scale insect sucks the juices from the shoots, causing them to dry out
Aphids attack leaves and young shoots Hawthorn caterpillars actively damage leaves Phyllosticosis is rare on mature trees, but is dangerous for seedlings Black cancer is a dangerous disease that leads to the death of a tree
How to plant
Let's look at how to properly plant a honey pear in your garden.
The pear of this variety is a partially self-fertile variety. Thus, for pollination to take place and fruit ovaries to appear, it is necessary to have at least two pollinators on the site.
But it is not recommended to use the same variety of pear for this purpose, but it is better to prefer varieties such as:
- Bere Ardanpont;
Pear Bere Ardanpon - Bere Bosc;
- Miraculous.
Other varieties, such as Chizhovskaya, Cathedral pear and others, can also be used as pollinators, the main thing is that they have a flowering and fruit ripening period similar to Honey. Pollinators should be placed 3 meters apart.
Choose the most suitable area in the garden for the plant. It should be south or southwest. It is important that the area is well lit by the sun most of the day, and that it is well protected from the wind. For wind protection, a building or some kind of artificial shield is suitable.
As for the soil, the Honey Pear will feel best in sandy loam soil with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. If the soil is acidic, it must be limed: the cuttings cannot be planted in an acidic environment. But how an early summer pear variety seedling is planted is described in great detail in this video.
Video shows how to plant a pear:
Experienced gardeners consider autumn to be the best time to plant this variety of pear: depending on climatic conditions, this may be the second part of September or the first part of October. At this time, the plant will be able to take root safely, since the ground has not yet frozen, but at the same time, the seedling will not begin to actively grow, since it is already quite cool.
If autumn planting is impossible for some reason, there is an option to plant a pear in the spring. In this case, the best time is mid-April to early May.
Collection, storage and use of fruits
Fruit ripeness occurs in mid-September. Ripe pears hold tightly to the branches. You can consume immediately after collection, without ripening.
The fruits should be removed carefully so as not to break off the stalk or damage the skin. Do not pull the fruit towards you, break it off the branch along with the stalk . Never leave the collected fruits in the sun.
Honey fruits are well stored. Select only whole, without wormholes or damage, fruits with intact stalks. Place them in wooden boxes, sprinkled with sawdust or sandwiched with hay or paper. Store the boxes in a cool room with a constant temperature of 1–3°C. This way you can preserve pears for 1.5–2 months. Pears will last in the refrigerator until January.
The fruits of the Honey Pear tolerate transportation well.
Pears are good both for fresh consumption and for making jam, compotes, marmalade, purees, juices, wine and various desserts.
Honey pears are good not only fresh, but also in preparations
How to properly care
Let's learn the main features of caring for the Honey pear variety growing in the garden.
Trimming
The plant needs good sunlight - this determines how quickly the fruits ripen and their size. Therefore, regular thinning of the crown of the Honey Pear is necessary. In addition, pruning will allow you to promptly get rid of young growth, the maintenance of which the tree spends nutrients and energy. It is also worth learning more about how winter pear varieties are pruned, and it is also worth learning more about which varieties are suitable for the middle zone.
Pear pruning
Honey pear needs crown-forming pruning - this is carried out in the second, third and fourth year after rooting. After the fourth year, the crown will already be properly formed, and all you have to do is maintain it in good condition by removing excess shoots, as well as old, dried, damaged branches.
Watering
Honey pear needs good watering, especially if the summer is dry.
If the plant is young, then it requires weekly watering: 10 liters of water must be used in one procedure. An adult fruit-bearing tree is usually moistened twice per season. The first time watering occurs before flowering, and the second time - immediately after flowering. After watering, it is advisable to mulch the root circle with peat, straw or humus: this measure will help retain moisture in the soil.
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