Prairie Gem® Flowering Pear -- Pyrus ussuriensis ‘MorDak’
RFM-12
Prairie Gem® dense form, quality
emerald-green foliage
White spring flowers
Description
‘MorDak’ has semi-glossy, leathery, deep emerald-green foliage, thick twigs and a very dense, globose tree form. These attributes result in a markedly superior clone for landscape use, compared to seedling Ussurian Pear. Prairie Gem® produces white flowers which blanket the tree in spring. It has been very winterhardy at numerous North Dakota sites. It appeared to suffer minor winter injury only one year at our most northern site, the NDSU Langdon Research Center. It is a good substitute in zones 3 and 4 for P. calleryana (Callery Pear) cultivars, due to insufficient winter hardiness of the latter. It does not fruit unless a different Pyrus pollinator tree is near. This can be an advantage, particularly in isolated rural areas, because the 1 ¼ inch yellow fruits are not of culinary value. The cultivar displays excellent resistance to fireblight, but it is undoubtedly not immune. It will reach semi-mature height of 25 feet in 15 to 20 years. Available in commercial nursery trade. Hardy in USDA Zone 3.
Potential Uses or Applications
Nursery stock, shelter, small residential and park landscape tree
Development Stage
Plant propagation material can be obtained from NDSU Plant Sciences Department or trees from licensed nursery subject to availability.
Patent Status
U.S. Trademark registered – Prairie Gem®
Canadian Trademark registered
Licensing Status
This cultivar is available for non-exclusive licensing.