What Should I Know About My Variety Of Pears?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Gorham’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Packham’s Triumph’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Conference’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Magness’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Bosc’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Concorde’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Williams’ Bon Chrétien’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Beurré Hardy’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Luscious’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘D’Anjou’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Clapp’s Favorite’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Moonglow’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Catillac’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Doyenne du Comice’?

Do you grow a variety called ‘Orient’?

Bearing a dual-purpose pear with a sweet, musky flavor and smooth-textured, juicy flesh, this is a moderate to good cropper with upright growth. It is a good pollenizer for other varieties, especially ‘Doyenne du Comice’, and is partially self-fertile.

A tree of relatively weak growth, it crops so heavily that fruits may need thinning. They have pale yellow-green, smooth, juicy flesh. For the best flavor, leave it on the tree as long as possible. Plant in a warm, sheltered location.

This reliable and heavy cropper is partially self-fertile. The long, greenish-russet fruits have creamy-white, very crisp flesh for dessert or culinary use. It is good for cordon and espalier training but is susceptible to canker, mildew, and scab.

Vigorous, fire blight-resistant ‘Magness’ bears excellent, greenish-brown, lightly russeted fruits with un-gritty flesh. This ‘Seckel’ and ‘Comice’ hybrid should be planted with two other varieties to ensure that all trees are pollinated.

Easily recognized by its long-necked shape and yellow-brown, russeted skin, this classic dessert pear is known for excellent flavor and juicy, smooth-textured flesh, and is considered the best pear for poaching. It is at risk of fire blight.

This new, partially self-fertile variety bears a very heavy crop on a compact tree, with pale green fruits turning pale yellow-green with russet patches. The flesh is juicy and sweet with a very good flavor, and fruits can be stored until midwinter.

The fruits of this vigorous, hardy tree have bright yellow-green skin and white, very smooth, juicy flesh with a musky flavor. They are borne in profusion and are dual-purpose. Pick promptly when ripe or they may rot.

This variety may be slow to bear its first crops, but from then on produces an abundance of medium to large fruits with green, bronze-russeted skin and aromatic, juicy flesh. Pick while hard and ripen in storage.

Bred for fire blight resistance, this is a good choice for colder areas. The excellent fruits are bright yellow with a red blush. Its pollen is sterile, so plant it near two other varieties to ensure that all trees are pollinated.

Characterized by its green skin even when ripe, mild, juicy ‘D’Anjou’ is a popular winter pear. Pears are harvested when firm and improve in flavor after a month or two of cold storage. It is more blight-resistant than Bartlett.

A hardy variety with upright growth, this tree crops prolifically, producing an early yield of scarlet-flushed, yellow-green fruits with crisp, sweet, juicy flesh that is good for both cooking and eating. Pick as soon as the fruit is ripe.

This vigorous upright tree bears yellow-green, pink-flushed, very juicy pears with a sweet, musky flavor and smooth texture, good for both dessert and culinary use; pick before fruits are ripe. This hardy variety is resistant to scab.

An old French variety with spreading growth and attractive blossom, ‘Catillac’ is one of the best culinary pears, bearing heavy crops of large greenish-yellow fruits, ready for use from late winter to mid-spring.

The large, gold-green fruits of this variety have a fine flavor and juicy, smooth flesh. They are best when picked early and ripened indoors. It has some resistance to mildew but is susceptible to scab. Grow in a warm location for the best crop.

Named for the similarity of its large, round fruits to Asian pears, ‘Orient’ is noted for its beauty as a landscape tree as well as for its productiveness and resistance to fire blight. Pears have yellow skin with a red blush and a mild flavor.

An Asian apple pear from Japan, ‘Nijisseiki’ has fruits that resemble an apple in shape and crispness but have the juiciness and sweet flavor of a pear. They will store in the refrigerator for several months with no loss of quality.