I know this is a cooking, not a gardening group- but there a lot of
gardeners here & I'm more interested in good tasting pears than
high-yields or ease of cultivation.

That said--- I'm in Zone 5 in NY & I think I'd like a couple dwarf
pears for the back yard. I buy a dozen pears every year and am lucky
to get 4 good ones.

I ought to do a little better fighting squirrels in the back yard.
[and I'm already fighting them for veggies, peaches and cherries so
that won't be a new battle]

What variety would you go for? I like to eat a *good* pear out of
hand-- but I've really gotten a taste for pears with a little
gorgonzola and honey dressing.

If there is a good canning pear, I might be tempted to can some for
winter.

Jim

On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:11:38 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
wrote:

>I know this is a cooking, not a gardening group- but there a lot of
>gardeners here & I'm more interested in good tasting pears than
>high-yields or ease of cultivation.
>
>That said--- I'm in Zone 5 in NY & I think I'd like a couple dwarf
>pears for the back yard. I buy a dozen pears every year and am lucky
>to get 4 good ones.
>
>I ought to do a little better fighting squirrels in the back yard.
>[and I'm already fighting them for veggies, peaches and cherries so
>that won't be a new battle]
>
>What variety would you go for? I like to eat a *good* pear out of
>hand-- but I've really gotten a taste for pears with a little
>gorgonzola and honey dressing.
>
>If there is a good canning pear, I might be tempted to can some for
>winter.
>
>Jim

They're all good.
Pears require a different variety for pollinating, and not all are
suitable so check. I recommend "semi-dwarf"... dwarf fruit trees are
rather small, for the effort they don't produce much.
Buy he http://www.schoharienurseries.com/

On Apr 23, 5:11*am, Jim Elbrecht > wrote:
> I know this is a cooking, not a gardening group- but there a lot of
> gardeners here & I'm more interested in good tasting pears than
> high-yields or ease of cultivation.
>
> That said--- I'm in Zone 5 in NY & I think I'd like a couple dwarf
> pears for the back yard. * I buy a dozen pears every year and am lucky
> to get 4 good ones. * * * *
>
> I ought to do a little better fighting squirrels in the back yard.
> [and I'm already fighting them for veggies, peaches and cherries so
> that won't be a new battle]
>
> What variety would you go for? * * I like to eat a *good* pear out of
> hand-- but I've really gotten a taste for pears with a little
> gorgonzola and honey dressing.
>
> If there is a good canning pear, I might be tempted to can some for
> winter.
>
> Jim

I'm a big fan of Bartletts. They keep well and don't have a lot of
problems with pollination in my part of the world (zone 8, Pac NW).
Good luck!

Ob. Cooking: I grill (flat)bread with crumbles of blue or gorgonzola
and crispy pancetta, then top with pear slices. An appetizer fit for
company!

On Apr 23, 7:11*am, Jim Elbrecht > wrote:
> I know this is a cooking, not a gardening group- but there a lot of
> gardeners here & I'm more interested in good tasting pears than
> high-yields or ease of cultivation.
>
> That said--- I'm in Zone 5 in NY & I think I'd like a couple dwarf
> pears for the back yard. * I buy a dozen pears every year and am lucky
> to get 4 good ones. * * * *
>
> I ought to do a little better fighting squirrels in the back yard.
> [and I'm already fighting them for veggies, peaches and cherries so
> that won't be a new battle]
>
> What variety would you go for? * *

It's good you're getting dwarfs. I grow apples, sweet and pie
cherries, peaches, plums, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries.
I don't grow pears because they attract wasps like nothing else.
Don't allow any fruit to stay on the ground. How about asian pears?
>
> Jim

--Bryan