Nashi

Nijisseiki
Appearance: Yellow-green skin
Harvest time: Late season - Mid-February - March
Taste/texture: Sweet and juicy

Origin Japan, chance seedling found on a rubbish heap in 1898 by Mr Kakunosuke Matsudo at Ishii, Chiba, P. pyrifolia.
Tree Medium to low vigour, spreading with wide branch angles, spur bearer, susceptible to fire blight. Ovate leaf with medium serrations, young leaves and shoots are whitely pubescent.
Chilling requirement Moderate.
Blossom and pollination Mid season, can set very heavily, up to 9 or 10 per flower cluster, 2 or 3 times, white medium flowers, tend to be pointy in bud. Hosui, Shinsui, Packham's Triumph, (Chojuro, but may be too early for Nijisseiki), NOT Kikusui.
Fruit shape Round, oblate, medium, can be small if too many on tree, need to thin to one per spur or two spurs.
Skin and flesh Yellowish green clear skin, subject to abrasion and marking under certain conditions, cracks badly after heavy continuous rain like Kikusui. Good eating quality, medium sugar, high acid.
Harvest 2-3 weeks after Shinsui, and after Kosui, 140-155 days after full bloom.


Kosui
Appearance: Greenish golden skin
Harvest time: Early season - January
Taste/texture: Sweet and juicy. Medium sized fruit

Origin Japan (1959), P. pyrifolia, Kikusui x Wasekozo.
Tree Medium to vigorous, moderate productivity, susceptible to fire blight and pear blast. Broad oval leaf with attenuate tip, medium serrations.
Chilling requirement Moderate, about 600 hours, more than Hosui.
Blossom and pollination Mid to late season. Hosui, Chojuro, Nijisseiki. NOT Shinsui.
Fruit shape Oblate, medium.
Skin and flesh Partially russeted, golden yellow to tan, attractive, tender, may crack a bit after heavy rain. Excellent eating quality, tender, very juicy, high sugar, low acid.
Harvest After Shinsui, before Nijiseiki, early, 125-135 days after full bloom.


Shinseiki
Appearance: Yellow-green smooth skin
Harvest time: Early season - January
Taste/texture: Crisp and juicy. Medium to large fruit Shineseiki Asian Pear is an early season Asian pear with yellow skin and very little russet. The fruit is medium in size with smooth creamy white flesh and a sweet, mild taste. Shinseiki is one of the earliest asian pears, ripening in mid-summer a couple weeks before Twentieth Century or Hosui.


Hosui
Appearance: Golden brown skin
Harvest time: Mid-season - Late-January - mid-February
Taste/texture: Crisp and juicy. Medium to large fruit

*Hosui is a very large, juicy, sweet, low-acid, bronze, russet-skinned fruit that ripens in August. The fruit does not store for longer than two to three months and may become soft in storage sooner than other cultivars.

Hosui is a consistent taste-test winner! The golden russeted skin has juicy, sweet, very flavorful flesh. Hosui is one of Japan's leading sellers. This crisp and refreshing apple-like pear ripens early through late August but stores well through November. (450 Chill Hours)

Snappy, tangy taste. The slightly higher acid content of this Asian pear adds a snappy tang taste. Harvest fruits in September. This blight-resistant tree is self-pollinating, but for maximum harvests pollinate with New Century.

Some stores get $1.50 apiece for a Hosui pear – and sell out! The fruit’s most notable trait is its extremely juicy, mild and sweet taste. Has a little of the tang in many apples and European pears; it’s a delight in any salad. Another feature we like is how easy these hybrids are to grow. They bloom late, avoid frost-kill, and ignore most pests and diseases. Hosui can bear large, gold-brown fruits as quickly as one year, then hundreds of pears per tree in 8 or 9 years. Fruits ripened on the tree by July can hold at least two months. Ripen July to Sept. depending on location. Hosui can produce fruit without pollinator, but for best result, plant Chojuro. Shipped spring only.