Harrow delight is a pear I will know more about this year. We will see if the flavor is similar from several of my trees.
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Here I find it less than delightful. Its early ripening seems to dilute its sugar so it comes off as fairly bland. You probably have to be a pear lover to love it. I donât really like any early pears that much- this goes for Asian as well as Euro.
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I tried Harrow Delight a few years ago. The fruit were small (lack of thinning, I think) and taste was rather unimpressive, nowhere as good as HS. Thatâs why I did not plant that variety.
I bought the fruit from a local farm. In your own backyard, you could thin more and let them hang longer. The taste could improve.
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The taste improves but I canât make them taste good enough to bother eating many. If pears are all you can grow, it might be a valuable pear. Itâs not like they store for 10 months.
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Thanks to everyone for all the Harrow Delight comments. Pretty sure I wonât be adding it.
Bill,
I added two grafts of Harrow Delight two years ago, one on each of my pear trees, just like a good hoarder usually does 
.
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Harrow Sweet proves precocious in my yard as well-2nd year graft is blooming, only variety other than an Asian pear to do so in the pear nursery.
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Iâve read about how precocious harrow sweet is and that it fruits sometimes the year after grafting. That would be second year would, just like peaches. If pears bear fruit on spurs how is it possible for certain pear types to bear fruit on second year wood? Donât spurs need at least couple of years to develop?
Peaches bear on wood that grew the year before, by the second year after grafting there is two and 3 year wood from the point of the graft.
The graft wood itself can be considered a spur if it bears fruit the second year. A spur is simply a growth of wood slowed by the presence of flower buds- well thatâs my def. Hereâs another one.
The fact is, fruiting wood can keep growing from the point of flowers or it can be halted when a flower bud forms on the tip or slowed by tipping below horizontal from weight of fruit.
Sometimes grafts arenât slowed much by having some fruit on the original length behind it if the new wood grows vigorously (and fairly vertically) the first year after grafting. If the vigorous growth isnât there better to remove flower or fruit so graft doesnât runt out.
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Thank you.
Lizzy, keep an eye out on Craigslist.org There are refrigerators on there from time to time. Just make sure they really work, as it costs to send them to recycling.
Hey Clark! I have some friends I go to church with that want to plant some pears. They are probably close to retirement age but are learning to garden, to preserve and can food, etc. This will be their first time planting fruit trees. They asked for some advice. I am thinking that they will want varieties that are super easy, highly disease resistant, on hardy rootstocks, and fruit earlier rather than later. Nothing fancy, just good pears! 
Based on some of your comments above, I was thinking to recommend Harrow Sweet, Douglas and Duchesse. I have these growing on my place but havenât gotten fruit yet (other than a few hard, sorry looking Harrow Sweet last year). What about Keiffer? What would your recommend? As far as rootstock, what do you think? Ohxf87?
They would like to plant some this fall. I think I will check with @TurkeyCreekTrees and @39thparallel to see if they will be selling any trees this fall. I cant remember if they have fall sales in the past or not.
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As far as i know they both do mostly spring sales but i cant speak for them. Harrow delight is a great pear to add to your list for quick production (3 years). Kieffer takes longer to produce but is good for canning if you want lots of pears
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Thanks @clarkinks ! Would you say Douglas would be a better choice than Keiffer? Keiffer is a parent if I remember correctly.
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Yes douglas is better in terms of it produces quickly, but blooms a little early. Kieffer and duchess dâ angoulme are its alleged parents
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Thanks Clark.
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I have a great slection of pear trees. Check in with me in October.
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Can anyone speak to the cold hardiness of Harrow Sweet (or any of the Harrowâs)?
Harrow Sweet and Harrow Delite were developed in Canada. They are generally hardy to at least zone 5.
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