Has your Shipova flowered yet?

I have Shipova grafted to Aronia. One Green World sells them that way as a means of dwarfing which I'm hoping will also make it more precocious.

I've assumed that Shipova is one variety that is propagated by grafting. So I think another Shipova wouldn't make any difference in polination. It must either be self fertile or pollenized by Mt. Ash or pear.

I think my graft is going into its 3rd leaf and it looks like it has flower buds. Its very slow growing on my aronia, but I just threw it on there. I let the other aronia limbs keep growing.

murky-
It hasn't flowered in the time I've had it. Right now it has quite a few tight buds, but nothing has opened yet so I don't know if it will be different this year.

My Shipova is like 10-11 years old. As of last spring, it hadn't ever bloomed. I hope this will be the year, but I am getting used to being disappointed. Eventually, it's got to bloom.

Just one of those things that requires patience, I guess.

The good news is, in my experience, any plant that is very slow to bloom like that usually has large numbers of blooms once it becomes physiologically mature.

Ju

I just wanted to thank you all for this thread. I had no idea that Shipovas would take so long to bear! Yes, the One Green World catalog has been enticing me to buy one, but now I'm reconsidering that in light of all this new info.
thanks again.

girlbug2-
I knew when I planted mine that it was typical to wait at least 7 years for fruit to appear, but I thought it would be an interesting experiment since I have lots of room for fruit trees. I notice that One Green World has several Shipova varieties and somewhat shorter times-to-bearing listed. You should check with them to see if these are real estimates or overly optimistic...

Here is another interesting Shipova thread

Here is a link that might be useful: Shipova

The impression I get from One Green World is that Shipova is a single variety. "Dwarf Shipova" is that variety grafted onto Aronia. And "Baby Shipova" is a different variety that was another cross between Mt. Ash and Pear.

murky-
I think you're right about the One Green World varieties.

On another matter, I'd like to hear whether yours flowers this year or not; I'll report back here, too, in a few weeks.

I will try to remember to report back. If you don't hear by the end of May I probably forgot.

Hopefully I'll take some pictures.

murky-
Ok, I'll do the same. Let's meet up here in May!

I've got a number of unusual trees including shipova. I understand they take a number of years to produce....mine has a few fruits for the first time this year. They need a pear for pollination.

Mine came from Raintree.

I got one from Burnt Ridge five years ago. It has about 20 fruit on it this year. They are starting to turn color right now. Bosc Pear is nearby for pollination.

lilydude-
Thanks for the update. Mine still hasn't flowered, but it has gotten big and has a beautiful shape and foliage. Maybe next year...

This is what my tree looks like right now.

{{gwi:84672}}

Close-up of fruit:

{{gwi:84673}}

The fruit just became ripe. It's yellow-red on one side, and greenish on the other. It tastes just like a ripe pear. It is ripe several weeks before my pears.

Dang, lilydude! My shipova is about 15' tall with a 3"-4" trunk with beautiful leaves and form...just no fruit. I got it from a reputable nursery: Raintree. Well, I hope to be posting next year that the fruit arrived.

Beautiful! Are they ripe? Were they worth the wait?

I didn't take good care of mine grafted to aronia. In fact, I'm not certain whether its still there. I've since moved but have access to the house.

Murky, they are ripe right now. They are a tasty fruit, but they aren't anything exotic, since they taste exactly like a pear.

Kudzu, two comments on pollination. I have two pear trees very close to the Shipova: Bosc and Comice, and also two Asian pears very close. Also, the last three years have been very bad for pollination, since the spring weather has been so cold and wet. My Japanese plum trees aren't setting any fruit. Also, I pruned my Shipova this spring. Maybe that helped. Can you post a photo of your tree?

lilydude-
I do have pear trees in proximity, and they are bearing fruit. My plums this year have been more bountiful than ever. But the shipova put out nary a blossom to be pollinated. Here is a picture I took today: {{gwi:84674}}

For scale, the hoses in the picture to the right of the tree are mounted about 2' off the ground.

lilydude,

I am running out of room in my BYO. I have a shipova that's about 4-years-old. If you had to choose, would you plant an Asian pear or a shipova?

If this is your first harvest I suppose you don't know about storage, but maybe someone else who has harvested a crop can chime in.

milehighgirl-
I have Asian pear apples and they put out fruit by the second year. I also have regular pears. I planted the shipova because it seemed a little exotic...and I have lots of room, so I am not unhappy, even though it has borne no fruit yet. But, if space is an issue, I'd vote for going with the Asian pear apples.

Kudzu, are you sure your tree is a Shipova? Do the leaves look like the ones in my photo?

Milehighgirl, I can't answer your questions, because I've only ever grown one Shipova tree. Also, your conditions there are totally different from mine. I think you should try to find a local source of information.

lilydude-
Yes, the leaves look just like yours, with a kind of soft, slightly fuzzy underside that is silvery. Here is the description from the place I bought it, Raintree Nursery:

Shipova

Pyrus x Sorbus

A unique Pear and Mountain Ash cross from Yugoslavia. It will grow to be a 15-20' tree and produces a nice crop of apricot size yellow, round flavorful pears. The leaves are silver grey and resemble a pear tree in shape. The hardy and scab resistant tree, on OHxF pear rootstock, blooms in mid-April and ripens fruit in August.

I have a friend who grew up in Yugoslavia and she says it is a Shipova, too.

I have one pear tree that is shaded most of the day by a huge locust tree. It only set two pears this year. Is your Shipova getting at least a few hours of sun per day?

lilydude-
Good point. I think it's in a decent location for sun...but I am planning to take out some trash trees that are doing some shading to the south of it.