Much has been said about Harrow Sweet on this forum. I have a couple of grafts growing from last year but no fruit yet, and I am considering using some of the growth from them to graft more Harrow Sweet. But before I go overboard, I should know a little more about it. Has anyone tried growing it in a low chill area, such as California, Florida, or Arizona? What has your experience been? And secondly, I’ve seen it referred to as a fall pear, which would mean that it needs a month of cold storage (in my limited knowledge), but it’s supposed to be a hybrid of ‘Bartlett’ x Purdue 80-51. Bartlett is a summer pear, right? So unless Purdue 80-51 is a fall pear, then Harrow Sweet is likely to be a summer pear. Unless I’m totally confused…?
Harrow Sweet is described as a late season pear, ripening 3 weeks after Bartlett. Good winter storage, up to Christmas, a true “winter pear”. Can’t find CH for Harrow Sweet, but Harrow Delight is 800 CH, so I imagine it is similar (but possibly a little less), as it was developed by the same entity, the Harrow Research Station in Ontario, Canada. I have planted it here as a CH experiment, but this is only the second year in ground for me.
Patty S.
Oh good, I’ll be interested to see how it does for you down there! I hear it’s precocious, so you may know soon.
I actually ask about the pear cold storage because I don’t want to have to store pears. That’s the problem with my Winter Nelis (besides the fact that it doesn’t get enough chill hours to be consistent here, and it’s plagued with diseases)–it’s a winter pear and the pears aren’t good until they’ve been in cold storage for a month, and I have a dinky little refrigerator. There is barely room for food and my scions, much less pear crops. Someday I’ll get an extra cooler in the garage, when my ship comes in…sigh…
Well, to be frank, I’m impatient, too. Not good at the delayed-gratification thingie 
Don’t know if my info would be any help to you since I am on the opposite coast and a few zones colder. Where I am Harrow Sweet ripens from late Sept to early Oct. I let them hung on the tree until their skin turned yellow.
HS can be eaten off the tree or after a few days in a fridge. My family like it very much. It is sweet and pleasant with smooth texture, not gritty.
It is precocious. Mine fruited the follwing spring after planting and every year since.
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Ooh, that is very helpful information, Mamuang. My Seckel was like that - fruit in the 2nd year. Same with my Pineapple pear, although it’s not as good a fruit. Average, good enough to still stay in the garden.
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Relieved to know it doesn’t need cold storage!
Here’s a write up on Harrow Sweet. Might be helpful.
http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/27/12/1331.full.pdf
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Harrow sweet fruits very quickly. It frequently develops pears in a year or two after planting. By far the easiest pear you can grow and the fastest producing. I added two trees and both have fruit in 2 years. Some of my pears took 12-15 years to fruit.
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Wow, Clark!!! Your HS are very red. It must be Kansas’ intense sun. Mine are in partial shade and only get a little red, never like yours.
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Yes my pears are all like that. Not sure what color it will turn out in the fall. My red blushing bartlett can be very red some years but at other locations may be yellow with a light blush of red. The hot sun here makes the pears very sweet. In the fall we get very cold nights sometimes and those 2 weather conditions really concentrate the sugars. I can tell your harrow sweet is a harrow sweet by the shape but it does look a lot lighter. One of my friends who lived in Iowa said she felt she was being burned by the sun here. It was over 100 degrees that year for much of July. It’s even hotter in Texas. The pear you took the photo of looks excellent! It’s only June and the 7 day forecast is 92, 92, 91, 91, 90, 88, 89 for daytime temperatures and 72, 72, 73, 72, 67, 67, 66, 67 for the evening lows.
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Your trees and fruit get suntanned. Mine is like most of the New Englanders. They are not tanned, they are usually burned 
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Good to hear about HS producing early. The one we planted in April has leafed out nicely and has sprouted quite a few new branches. Some tips got chewed on by deer, so I put up a 4ft circular fence around it.
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Anyone (like @mamuang and @clarkinks, and others) have an update on their Harrow Sweet pears? I contacted a local orchard and they’re saying theirs are ready for picking. I planted a HS this spring, and am curious to hear about them.
I am very pleasantly surprised with mine. First crop on a 3Rd year tree. About 20 or so and I have mostly been letting get slightly soft on the tree, and they taste great
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Most of Mine were torn off by the storm but the one I ate was great. Mamuangs HS are very good!
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I have not picked mine. They are not quite ripe yet. I usually wait until the pear skin turn pale yellow. Right now, they are still green. The tree is in an undesirable location. It does not get a lot of sun, only about 5-6 hours of direct sun.
If it is in a sunnier location, it would probably be more productive and ripen sooner.
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