Pear Kieffer

More than a century and a half history of the Kieffer pear began on the North American continent. A seedling of a wild pear was pollinated with pollen of either the Williams or Bere Anjou variety (more accurate information has not been preserved). The variety was named after the name of the scientist who was engaged in its breeding.
In the middle of the last century, the Kieffer pear began to be grown on our continent. After testing, this variety was recommended for cultivation on the territory of Moldova, in the south of Ukraine and in the North Caucasus. At this time, the Kieffer pear is successfully grown in other regions.

Pear Kieffer: variety description and characteristics

Pear Kieffer: photo of the variety

The tree in the Kieffer pear variety develops quite quickly, but its height does not exceed four meters. Strongly leafy crown has a conical shape. The main branches that form the "skeleton" of the tree are located at an angle of approximately 30 degrees relative to the trunk. The bark on the main branches is gray, with cracks in the trunk. Straight shoots are red-brown, the upper part of the branches is pubescent. Large, leathery oval leaves are pointed at both ends, curved and attached to a short and thin petiole. In autumn, they blush beautifully, making the pear a real decoration of your garden.

The Kieffer pear blooms early, but other varieties of pears must be planted nearby to harvest, as the Kieffer pear needs pollinators. Such varieties as "Bon-Louise" and "Saint-Germain" are ideal for this role.

Fruiting of the Kieffer pear variety can be expected in the fifth or sixth year after planting. Harvesting takes place in the second half of September, after which the pears need to lie down for a couple of weeks to finally ripen. Taking this into account, the fruit must be removed from the tree along with the stalks, as this significantly increases the shelf life of pears.

The size of the fruits is rather average, although there are also large specimens. Average weight 130-150 grams. The shape of pears resembles a barrel, their rough and rather thick skin is light green at the time of harvest, and when the pears are fully ripe, it becomes golden, sometimes a reddish "blush" appears on the pears. Timely and correctly harvested fruits can be stored until December, and they also perfectly tolerate transportation.

The tasting score of Kieffer pears is extremely low - 3.7 points on a five-point scale. The flesh, white with a yellowish tinge, is juicy and sweet, but somewhat coarse and has a specific tart aftertaste. Therefore, fresh these pears are "for an amateur" (and there are a lot of amateurs). Otherwise, they are universal and suitable for any preservation, preparation of dried fruits or desserts.

The high yield of Kieffer pear trees increases with age; according to the observations of gardeners, the maximum yields are in the middle of the third decade, at about 24-26 years.

Pear Kieffer: planting varieties

Pear Kieffer: photo of the variety

It is necessary to choose and prepare a place for planting a tree in advance. Planting work can be carried out both in the spring and in the fall, but it is still recommended to do this in the spring, as the young tree will have much more time to adapt. Although it is the Kieffer pear seedlings that take root well during autumn planting (no later than the last days of September).

Kieffer pears do not impose special requirements on the composition of the soil; it is much more important to choose a well-lit place for the plant, ideally on a small hill. The more sunlight your pear receives, the tastier and sweeter its fruits will be.

In addition, it is necessary to find out the depth of the groundwater at the site, and this indicator should also be taken into account when choosing a landing site. In order to avoid sticking the roots in the future, you can dig a deeper planting hole and lay a sheet of tin or slate on its bottom.

You can prepare nutritious soil for pears by adding compost or humus, coarse sand or fine expanded clay (to increase the soil looseness), as well as 200-250 grams of superphosphate and 100 grams of potash fertilizer to the soil.

When choosing Kieffer pear seedlings, carefully examine them. Healthy and high-quality planting material should be free of any damage, with a well-developed root system (no signs of drying out or rot). You can purchase both one-year-old and two-year-old seedlings.

10-12 hours before planting, it is recommended to lower the roots into a container of water so that they are saturated with moisture and restore elasticity.

The following is a step-by-step description of planting work:

• Prepare the planting hole about 3 weeks before the expected planting date. On average, the diameter of the planting pit is 70 cm, and the depth is about a meter. Drive a stake of such a length into the bottom so that it rises about a meter above the soil level - this will be a support for your seedling.
• Lay a layer of drainage material on the bottom (expanded clay, stones, brick fragments - of your choice), then add nutrient soil, level it and add a little more to make a mound.
• After the roots of the seedling are saturated with moisture, they should be dipped in clay diluted in water, and then the tree is lowered into the planting hole, gently spreading the roots over the mound of soil.
• The roots are covered with earth, watered (20-30 liters of water will be required), and the seedling is attached to the support. After the soil settles a little, it is necessary to fill up the earth, not to tamp it, but only to press it a little.

If you planted a tree in the fall, then water it only if there is no rain. If the planting was carried out in the spring, then watering should be carried out regularly so that the tree takes root faster.

Pear Kieffer: variety care

Pear Kieffer: photo of the variety

Caring for any fruit tree consists of watering, fertilizing, regular pruning and preventive treatment against harmful insects and various diseases. In the case of the Kieffer pear variety, preparation of the tree for winter should also be added to the list of concerns, since the plant's frost resistance is quite low. Therefore, before the onset of winter, it will be necessary to cover the trunk circle with a thick layer of mulch, and insulate the tree with spruce branches and burlap or geotextiles.

Watering. The watering regime depends entirely on the weather. This variety is drought tolerant, even recommended for cultivation in steppe regions, but still, in dry summers, the tree should be watered after the topsoil has dried.

In the spring, after the snow cover has completely melted and the earth begins to warm up, the plant is watered two or three times (depending on the weather). It is in no case possible to pour water simply into the base of the trunk, you need to make a furrow at some distance from the trunk and pour water into it around the tree.

In a typical summer, two thorough watering will be required: at the very beginning of summer, and then in the middle. After harvesting, the last watering is carried out.

After each watering, it is recommended to loosen the soil and then mulch - this prevents rapid evaporation of moisture.

Fertilizers. The first year after planting, the tree does not need to be fertilized - the nutritious soil mixture from the planting pit will be enough for it. And starting from the second year, it will be necessary to carry out three or four additional feeding per season.

In the spring, the tree needs nitrogen to grow foliage, so chicken droppings, karbofoska or nitroammofoska can be used for feeding. Re-feeding can be done in two to three weeks, after the tree has faded.

Then, in June, another top dressing is carried out, for which phosphorus and potash fertilizers are used. If fertilizers are in the form of granules, then they should be embedded in the soil by about 10 cm. If you prefer to carry out fertilizing in liquid form, then dissolve the granules in water and water the tree.

Foliar dressing can be carried out by spraying the crown of the tree with a solution of fertilizers, so the tree better assimilates useful and necessary elements.

In the fall, after harvesting, you can fertilize the tree with wood ash, or again with potash-phosphorus fertilizers. Then dig up and mulch the soil, and wrap up the trunk.

Important to rememberthat if you carry out root dressing with liquid fertilizers, then you should first water the plant. Fertilizing a tree on dry soil is highly discouraged.

Pruning. In the first year after planting, a rather radical pruning of the branches is carried out. The trunk is shortened by about a quarter, the main "skeletal" branches are left, and the rest are cut off.

In the second year, the trunk is cut by 20-25 cm, and the "skeletal" branches by five to seven centimeters. The upper branches should be slightly shorter than the lower ones, so the crown will take the shape of a cone.

Pruning is carried out in early spring, before the beginning of the growing season. Shoots growing parallel to the trunk or deeper into the crown should be removed. In addition, damaged or broken branches are removed as needed.

Pruning is always carried out with very sharp garden tools, which are treated with a disinfectant immediately before use. Places of cuts should be treated with garden varnish.

Diseases and pests

The Kieffer pear has good immunity and is resistant to most fungal infections such as scab, rust or mottling. Disease prevention consists in observing the irrigation regime - it is impossible to allow waterlogging of the soil, timely pruning of the tree, as well as the removal of all plant residues from the trunk circle (meaning fallen leaves and weeds). In addition, it is recommended to spray the pear twice a year with preparations containing copper (Bordeaux liquid, copper sulfate, and others). Spraying is carried out in early spring and in the second half of autumn, when the tree has already shed all the leaves.

To protect against harmful insects, before flowering, treatment with "Fufanon", "Iskra", "Agravetin" or any other similar preparation should be carried out.

Outcome

Need to mark. That the gardeners' reviews of the Kieffer pear variety are very different - there are positive ones, there are also negative ones. Among the advantages of the variety, it is noted for its yield, long shelf life of fruits, resistance to various diseases. They rarely praise the taste of the fruit, but everyone, without exception, notes that this variety is ideal for home preservation.

Among the disadvantages of the Kieffer pear variety, dissatisfied gardeners, in addition to average taste, note low frost resistance in the middle lane. But this quality is described in the characteristics of the variety and should not come as a surprise.

Before buying Kieffer pear seedlings, you should once again familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the variety, weigh the pros and cons. And if you are looking for a high-yielding variety for growing in a warm region, then it may be worth choosing the Kieffer pear.