The exotic Nashi pear, also known as the Chinese, Asian or Japanese pear, can also be grown in Germany. You can find out how to do this and what else you should consider when caring for the tree below.
The Nashi pear, also known as the Chinese pear, is a close relative of our cultivated pear (Pyrus communis) and also thrives in our gardens. We introduce you to the Asian fruit tree and give tips on cultivation and harvest.
Nashi pear: origin and characteristics
Where does the Nashi pear come from? The Nashi pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) belongs to the rose family (Rosaceae) and originally comes from China, but is now widespread throughout East Asia and Japan. The word "nashi" comes from the Japanese and means "pear", which is why the term "nashi pear" is actually a double. The Nashi is a hardy, medium-growing tree that can reach a height of 7 to 15 m as a standard. Varieties for the home garden or commercial cultivation are much slower growing and usually only reach a maximum height of 5 m and a width of 2 to 4 m. The flowering period of the Nashi pear begins in April, with the many white flowers providing food for numerous insects. Nashis need a second tree for good pollination, alternatively a pollinating pear variety such as 'Conference' or 'Williams Christ'. The apple-shaped, flat-round fruits have large, light-colored lenticels and can be completely russet. The diameter of a fruit is between 6 and 10 cm. The color varies between yellow-green and sunny yellow to bronze in the russet varieties. Nashis ripen in late summer between August and October. They taste fruity-sweet and very juicy of melon and a little pear. The Nashi pear harvest season lasts about a month.
Overview of Nashi Pear Varieties
Especially in Asia, the Nashi is also cultivated in plantations, which is why most of the available varieties come from East Asian breeding. We give an overview often attractive nashi varieties for your own garden.
- 'Benita': Hybrid of European pear and Nashi. The up to 4 m high tree grows vigorously. 'Benita' ripens from August and tastes more like a pear than pure Nashi varieties. The fully ripe fruits fall down, so they should be harvested before then.
- 'Chojuro': Medium to strong growing Nashi with large, attractive dark bronze colored russeted fruits. The coarse-grained pulp is perfumed and juicy sweet. The variety ripens mid-early and can be harvested from September.
- 'Hakko': Nashi pear with weak growth and yellow-green to golden-yellow, medium-sized fruits. The harvest of the sweet and aromatic Nashi pear begins at the end of August.
- 'Hosui': Medium-growing variety with medium-sized fruits with an attractive bronze tone. The juicy pulp is perfumed and fine-grained. The Nashi can be harvested from September.
- 'Kumoi': Nashi pear with light bronze fruits and medium growth. The 4-5 m high tree of 'Kumoi' bears nashis ready for picking between September and October.
- 'Naddel Pear': French variety with a growth height of 3 - 4 m and light yellow, juicy-sweet fruits that ripen from September.
- 'Nijisseiki': Nashi pear with strong growth and yellow-green, medium-sized fruits. The aromatic nashis can be harvested from September.
- 'Reddy Robin': New Zealand variety from a cross between a Chinese and Japanese Nashi with sun-side red speckled fruit. 'Reddy Robin' is scab resistant and can be harvested from the end of August.
- 'Shinseiki': Medium to strong-growing tree and medium-early harvest from September. The yellow fruits are the result of crossing the varieties 'Nijisseiki' and 'Chojuro'.
- 'Yakumo': Slow-growing tree for small gardens. The yellow-green fruits are significantly smaller than other Nashi varieties, but have a very good fruit quality and an aromatic taste. 'Yakumo' ripens after 'Nijisseiki' from around mid-September.
Plant Nashi Pear
Fruit trees like the Nashi pear are best planted in late fall. The best time to plant is between October and November, as the tree forms new roots over the winter but has not yet lost any water through the leaves. In the following spring, a fine root system has already formed, whichNashi pear tree supplied with water and nutrients. With a growth width of 2 to 4 m, the Asian pear should have a distance of at least 2 to 2.5 m to other plants. However, there are also Nashi pears as a columnar fruit with a much narrower growth habit and correspondingly smaller space requirement.
The right location for the Nashi pear tree
Nashi pears place similar demands on the location as cultivated pears. The Asian pear thrives best in well-drained, deep and humus-rich garden soil in a sunny location. The pH should be slightly acidic.
Planting a nashi pear: how to do it
The deep-rooted Nashi pears should be well planted and tied up. Proceed as follows when planting the Asian fruit tree:
- Dig a large planting hole, at least 1.5 times the size of the Nashi root ball.
- If necessary, mix the excavated soil with mature compost or Plantura organic soil activator.
- Place the Nashi pear tree in the planting hole, grafting point must be about 10 cm above the ground.
- Fill with the soil mixture, press the soil all around, form the pouring rim and water well.
- Hit two stakes against and with the wind direction and fix Nashi between them.
- Final pruning for a good crown structure: reduce side shoots to three to four branches and shorten by half. Shorten the leader so that it is no more than 10 cm higher than the side branches.
Care for the Chinese pear: this is important
In the first year after planting, the Nashi tree should be watered during dry periods. An annual fertilizer application in spring provides the fruit tree with important nutrients. Nashis should also receive good training and rejuvenation pruning, as they often age faster than cultivated pears. When cutting Nashi pears, you can use the pear tree pruning as a good guide. Steep branches can be brought into a horizontal position with weights or ropes. This promotes flowering and a rounded crown. Nashis are more resistant to pests than many fruit trees. They are largely insensitive to pear rust (Gymnosporangium sabinae) and apple scab (Venturia inaequalis). However, reportable fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) and pear decay (Candidatus Phytoplasma pyri) can occur, which can kill entire trees. Wasps and birds also like Nashi pears and caneat many of the tasty fruits.
Propagating Nashi Pear
Nashis can be propagated by seed or grafted by scions. When planting the Nashi pear kernels, you should note that they are cold germs, which require a longer period of cold before germination. However, seedlings only bear fruit after several years. Certain varieties cannot be propagated from seeds, as nashis mostly crossbreed with pears. They should be grafted onto other nashis. Quince (Cydonia oblonga) and pear are also suitable rootstocks to refine the Nashi pear on. This technique also allows garden owners to graft an existing tree and thus re-educate a branch or part of the crown to the nashi. You can learn more about different techniques that can also be applied to pear and nashi in our article on grafting apple trees.
Harvesting and storing nashi pears
Nashi pears ripen from August to October. You should always keep an eye on the fruits, as they are hard at first and then become soft very quickly. The taste of the Nashi pear is juicy-sweet and aromatic with a pear aroma. For direct consumption, the Chinese pears are harvested shortly before they are fully ripe, so that they are still crunchy but no longer hard. Ripe Nashi pears should be used quickly. They can be processed into juice, jam or pear chips and thus preserved. Hard fruits harvested just before they are fully ripe can be stored in the refrigerator or cool cellar for about two months and eaten gradually.
How he althy are Nashi pears? The he althy Nashi pears have similar ingredients to our cultivated pears, but are richer in vitamins, potassium and magnesium. These minerals are particularly important for maintaining normal muscle function. It also contains vitamin C, various B vitamins and provitamin A.
Like many of our fruit species, including apples and pears, the related medlar (Mespilus germanica) originally comes from Asia. In our article you will learn everything about the choice of variety, cultivation and harvest of the delicious wild fruit.