Fruit "Honey" pears are fragrant, juicy and have a honey aftertaste. Trees take up little space in the garden and are unpretentious in maintenance. Even these facts are enough to interest gardeners in this variety of pears.
Breeding history and breeding region
In 1964, in the Crimea, a group of scientists managed to bring a new variety of pears - "Honey". It is also called "Crimean Honey". It is a seedling from the free pollination of the French Bere Bosc variety.
Did you know? In the 17th century, instead of the word “pear,” they used the word “dula”, borrowed from Polish from dula.
Characteristics and features
This pear variety is artificially developed and has a number of special characteristics.
The following varieties of pears are often also grown on the plots: "Petrovskaya", "In memory of Zhegalov", "Favorite Yakovlev", "Otradnenskaya", "Avgustovskaya dew", "Children", "Rogneda", "Elena", "Fairy tale", " Nika, Northerner, Lada.
Wood
Trees "Crimean honey" quite compact, no more than two meters high. The fruitful period begins with the third year of disembarkation. The variety is self-infertile, for pollination, two trees are needed nearby.
The ideal partner will be a variety that blooms at the same time as Honey. The distance between the “Honey” pear and pollinating trees should be about three meters. The life span of a variety is about fifty years.
Fruits
Fruits have a green-yellow shade with gray subcutaneous spots, the color of the integuments is a brown blush. Fruits are large (weight from 300 to 500 g), are not equal. The stem of the honey pear is short, slightly curved. Ripe pears from the branches are not showered. Harvesting fruits by hand ensures that they will all be intact and not damaged by impacts on the ground.
How to choose seedlings when buying
The optimum age of trees for planting is 1-2 years. The older the seedling, the harder it transfers the transplant and worse it adapts to the new place. You can determine the age of the seedling visually. The height of the annual plant is about 1 meter, there are no side shoots. The trunk of the tree from the middle has buds. The length of the root system is about 20 cm.
Biennial plant up to one and a half meters. It has from three to five shoots, roots up to 30 cm long. Regardless of the age, the seedling should be covered with a smooth bark without damage. Roots must be clean without blisters and growths.
Did you know? In the world there are in excess of three thousand varieties of pears.
Choosing a place on the site
For planting seedlings suitable south side of the site. These fruits should get enough sun. Optimally, if from the north the trees are protected from the cold wind by a fence or buildings. Sandy and clay soils are not suitable for planting pears. 
Preparatory work
Planting pear "Honey" is possible twice a year:
- in the autumn: in late August - early September, while the weather is dry and warm. There is enough time for cold weather to make the tree grow stronger and overwinter;
- in the spring: at the end of April - beginning of May, when the frosts had already stopped, and the earth warmed up.
Check out the list of pear varieties for the Moscow region, Siberia, the Urals and the middle band.
Step-by-step process of planting seedlings
- First of all, two weeks before landing, it is necessary to prepare a pit. It is dug up to 80 cm in width and from 80 cm to a meter in depth, depending on the branching of the roots. About a third of the excavated soil should be folded to the side, it will be needed for further planting.
- Next, the bottom of the pit should be filled with humus and a layer of sand. Roots of a seedling should be leveled over a hole and covered with earth until a mound is formed. The result is air and moisture permeable soil.
- Then you need to dig a column and bind to it a pear seedling. This should be done with a cloth or wrap, so as not to injure the tree.
- After these actions pour a bump of water in a mound.
Seasonal care features
To make the Honey pear give a bountiful harvest, you should follow simple care tips throughout the year.
Soil care
A young, non-bearing tree requires regular watering. If the soil is dry, then you need to water it once a week, using at least 10 liters of water for each pear.
Fruit tree is watered only twice a year - before flowering and after. For irrigation, about 10 cm deep grooves are dug around the trunk, water is poured into them. To preserve moisture, watering the place you need to cover with straw, peat or other organic matter. Land near the tree must be regularly loosened. In spring and autumn, they dig up the soil around the trunk.
Top dressing
Feeding the tree four times a year:
- before flowering;
- during flowering;
- after flowering;
- in the middle of autumn.
Mineral fertilizers have different properties - nitrogen-containing fertilizers are used to enhance growth processes. Superphosphate and potassium sulfate help better seedling development and increase frost resistance.
Preventive treatment
For the prevention of diseases such as scab, rust, black cancer, and from pests - saplings, pear mites, slimy sawflies, it is enough to burn fallen leaves in autumn and dig the ground around the tree 15 cm deep. In late autumn, tree trunks are whitewashed to prevent the parasites from hibernating.
Important! In order to avoid aphids, cytosporosis, moths, it is necessary to remove frozen branches and pear bark.
Pruning
Pruning a pear is important for its development, as it improves the illumination of the crown, which increases productivity. The first pruning is carried out one year after disembarkation. In late March, the trunk is shortened by a quarter. The tallest side branches shorten by a third. The center conductor is left 20 cm longer than the tallest side branch.
A year later, choose the 2-3 most tall shoots and at a distance of about half a meter from the first. These branches align with the first row. The rest of the shoots must be reduced to the ring, that is, cut under the trunk, leaving no hemp. The trunk is cut to 20 cm.
In the 4th year of life, the pear leaves one branch 40-50 cm above the second row. The undergrowth between cycles of branches is shortened on a ring. The central trunk is trimmed to the level of the most extreme branch.
In the summer, to prevent the growth of branches in length, they are cut to solidified tissue. This pruning is called pinning and is carried out throughout the summer with a regularity of ten days. From late August to mid-September, pruned dry and pest-damaged shoots.
Protection against cold and rodents
Pears "Honey" differ in winter hardiness, but young trees should be protected from severe frosts. To protect the fruit from frost they are wrapped with paper or cloth. Also, the trunk is instilled with a layer of earth about 20 cm, and then covered with a thick layer of snow.
Important! The greater the harvest on the pear, the lower its frost resistance this year.The advantages of this variety include:
- pleasant taste and aroma;
- high yield;
- variability of variety;
- small dimensions of trees;
- the possibility of landing in the fall or spring;
- long shelf life and fruit transportability.
- difference in size of fruits with a bountiful harvest;
- reduced frost resistance at high yields.
Summarizing everything written, it is necessary to recognize that there are many more advantages to this variety than disadvantages. Crimean Honey will decorate any garden and will delight you with juicy, honeyed fruits.
