Pear Varieties in Home Fruit Plantings
Fire blight is a disease that made it difficult to successfully grow pears in the past. There are now fire blight resistant pear varieties, and the better selections are listed under European Pears. Some homeowners have also had success with Asian pears. It is still important to be alert to the first signs of fire blight in the spring and to remove infected shoots before the disease spreads.
Note: Expected harvest date for Southcentral Pennsylvania is listed after each variety, in parentheses.
European Pears
SUNRISE is an early maturing pear. It has excellent fruit quality and stores well, making it a good choice for eating fresh and baking. It has good resistance to fire blight. (August 15)
AC™ HARROW CRISP was released by the Harrow Research Station in Ontario, Canada. It possesses firm, smooth flesh with a mildly sweet flavor. It ripens in late August, and is very resistant to fire blight. (August 20)
POTOMAC is a high quality eating pear that is very resistant to fire blight. It has moderately fine flesh, with a flavor profile similar to Anjou. It can be stored for 8 weeks in the fridge. (September 10)
AC™ HARROW SWEET was also released by the Harrow Research Station. It is sweet and juicy, and is moderately resistant to fire blight. (September 10)
SHENANDOAH has a spicy, acidic flavor that balances its sweetness for an excellent eating pear. It is moderately resistant to fire blight and can be stored for up to five months in the fridge. (September 15)
Asian Pears
YOINASHI™ is a yellow-brown skinned fruit with good flavor and firm, aromatic flesh. (September 20)
SHINKO produces large, round to slightly flattened fruit with a bronze russeted skin. Trees are well shaped and very productive with no tendency toward biennial bearing. Reported to have strong resistance to fire blight. Fruit will store for approximately 2 months. (September 25)
OLYMPIC may also be variously known as Korean Giant or Olympic Giant. Fruits are large, round, and have an attractive golden, russeted skin. Olympic matures late, and has the longest storage life of the Asian pears. (October 10)
Recommended Rootstock
OHxF87 is a fire blight resistant, semi-dwarfing rootstock that promotes earlier fruiting than a standard pear. It is highly recommended for homeowners.
