European Pear Trees
Harvesting European pears is a challenge. They are picked before they ripen. If allowed to ripen on the tree, they will rot in the center.
When you have many varieties, it is not an easy to determine the optimal picking time for each. I keep logs, of when they are picked each year, and record the evaluation of taste and quality, to make harvesting easier, as each year goes by. This is made more complex because, depending on the weather, harvest time varies each year.
Generally, when the expected picking time for a particular variety nears, I test the pears. You can determine approximately when they are ready to be harvested by lifting them upward into a horizontal position. If they snap off the branch, they are likely ready to be picked. However, I then let the test sample sit in our kitchen for several days to ripen, then taste it. Again, this is complicated because most European pears do not develop their full flavor until they sit in storage for 4 to 6 weeks.
Once a decision is made on when to pick, that variety is placed in storage at 37 degrees Fahrenheit. All during he winter, a handful is removed from cold storage and allowed to ripen for several days, before being eaten.
There is a subset of European pears called "Perry" pears and are grown to produce "Perry" - an alcoholic pear cider. Perry pear trees are often huge trees up to 50' tall. We do not grow any Perry pears.
For European pear trees, the best rootstock is OHxF (OHxF 333, OHxF 87, OHxF 97). Avoid Quince rootstock - it is prone to Fireblight. We have lost half-a-dozen fruit trees that were not fireblight resistant. Not worth the time or effort to plant those.
We have had good luck with these delicious disease-resistant European pears, kept pruned to under 8' high:
Blakes Pride on BA29 Quince - planted in 2013, so far low production (14 pears).
Honeysweet on OHxF 333 - planted 2012, so far very low production (1 pear).
Kieffer from Home Depot - planted 2010, highly productive and great for canned pears. We enjoy these all winter (25 gallons of pears).
Magness on BA29 Quince - planted 2010, largest pear in our orchard (38 pears).
Potomac on OHxF 97 - planted 2013, so far no pears .
These have not done well on our site and all four have been removed:
Blakes Pride on BA29 Quince - planted in 2010 tree died 2019, unknown cause, however, a second one is doing well so far.
Seckel on OHxF 333 - planted 2011, removed 2018, never ripens, then rots, tastes awful.
Shenandoah on BA29 Quince - planted 2012, removed tree 2018, fruit is sweet but has a bitter aftertaste.
Summercrisp on OHxF 333 - planted 2010, tree died 2018, unknown cause.
In Spring 2020, we are planting these bare-root trees:
Gem
Harrow Delight
Moonglow
Recipe for canned pears:
The 'Kieffer' pear is not an eating pear but a canning pear. It is delicious and firm canned but not so great fresh. We harvest it o/a Sept 18, then let it sit in the cool basement to ripen until o/a Oct 8th, then process it. 25 gallons of pears yields ~37 pounds of cleaned and cut pear slices, which yields ~30 pint-jars of canned pears which we enjoy all winter in salads. We evolved a delicious recipe. Starting with the basic instructions in the Ball canning book for a medium sugar syrup, we add 5 TBS of Oriental Five Spice and 5 TBS of Cinnamon to a 25-gallon batch of whole pears.
Good sources of bare-root European Pear trees with OHxF rootstock are:
Cummins Nursery, Ithaca, NY
Fedco Seeds, Maine
Orange Pippin, Ithaca, NY
A good source for potted pear trees is:
Edible Landscaping, Afton, Virginia
When you have many varieties, it is not an easy to determine the optimal picking time for each. I keep logs, of when they are picked each year, and record the evaluation of taste and quality, to make harvesting easier, as each year goes by. This is made more complex because, depending on the weather, harvest time varies each year.
Generally, when the expected picking time for a particular variety nears, I test the pears. You can determine approximately when they are ready to be harvested by lifting them upward into a horizontal position. If they snap off the branch, they are likely ready to be picked. However, I then let the test sample sit in our kitchen for several days to ripen, then taste it. Again, this is complicated because most European pears do not develop their full flavor until they sit in storage for 4 to 6 weeks.
Once a decision is made on when to pick, that variety is placed in storage at 37 degrees Fahrenheit. All during he winter, a handful is removed from cold storage and allowed to ripen for several days, before being eaten.
There is a subset of European pears called "Perry" pears and are grown to produce "Perry" - an alcoholic pear cider. Perry pear trees are often huge trees up to 50' tall. We do not grow any Perry pears.
For European pear trees, the best rootstock is OHxF (OHxF 333, OHxF 87, OHxF 97). Avoid Quince rootstock - it is prone to Fireblight. We have lost half-a-dozen fruit trees that were not fireblight resistant. Not worth the time or effort to plant those.
We have had good luck with these delicious disease-resistant European pears, kept pruned to under 8' high:
Blakes Pride on BA29 Quince - planted in 2013, so far low production (14 pears).
Honeysweet on OHxF 333 - planted 2012, so far very low production (1 pear).
Kieffer from Home Depot - planted 2010, highly productive and great for canned pears. We enjoy these all winter (25 gallons of pears).
Magness on BA29 Quince - planted 2010, largest pear in our orchard (38 pears).
Potomac on OHxF 97 - planted 2013, so far no pears .
These have not done well on our site and all four have been removed:
Blakes Pride on BA29 Quince - planted in 2010 tree died 2019, unknown cause, however, a second one is doing well so far.
Seckel on OHxF 333 - planted 2011, removed 2018, never ripens, then rots, tastes awful.
Shenandoah on BA29 Quince - planted 2012, removed tree 2018, fruit is sweet but has a bitter aftertaste.
Summercrisp on OHxF 333 - planted 2010, tree died 2018, unknown cause.
In Spring 2020, we are planting these bare-root trees:
Gem
Harrow Delight
Moonglow
Recipe for canned pears:
The 'Kieffer' pear is not an eating pear but a canning pear. It is delicious and firm canned but not so great fresh. We harvest it o/a Sept 18, then let it sit in the cool basement to ripen until o/a Oct 8th, then process it. 25 gallons of pears yields ~37 pounds of cleaned and cut pear slices, which yields ~30 pint-jars of canned pears which we enjoy all winter in salads. We evolved a delicious recipe. Starting with the basic instructions in the Ball canning book for a medium sugar syrup, we add 5 TBS of Oriental Five Spice and 5 TBS of Cinnamon to a 25-gallon batch of whole pears.
Good sources of bare-root European Pear trees with OHxF rootstock are:
Cummins Nursery, Ithaca, NY
Fedco Seeds, Maine
Orange Pippin, Ithaca, NY
A good source for potted pear trees is:
Edible Landscaping, Afton, Virginia
