It is mentioned in Pears of the SE and also known as Green Jade
(formerly known as ‘Green Jade’)**
Breeder(s): Jules Janick; PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History: Originally tested as P448-2. Originated from an [US 386 (Michigan 437 x Roi Charles de Wurtemburg), X ‘Star’ (‘Beierschmidt’ x NJ 1')] cross. Rootstocks used: Standard Orchards grown in: Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchard B. Notes: Fruit quality: These pears can be eaten while firm or after softening. Flavor is sweet, but with little aroma. Texture is firm and crisp for a European (*P. communis* ) pear, but not crisp if you compare it to an Asian (*P. pyrifolia* ) pear or an apple like '[Pixie Crunch](https://www.chathamapples.com/ApplesNY/SEApples.html#PixieCrunch)' or '[Honeycrisp](https://www.chathamapples.com/ApplesNY/SEApples.html#Honeycrisp)' Flesh is smooth, with no noticeable grit cells. Fruit size: Large. 234 g/fruit. Plant patent says: "...typical fruit about 3.00 inches long and about 2.8 inches wide at the widest point." Fruit appearance: Attractive deep green mellowing to a yellowish-green when fully ripe; no russet. Patent says: "[Oblong to ovate](https://www.chathamapples.com/PearsNY/images/PearShapes.jpg) and symmetrical, with a typical length to diameter ratio of about 1.2; no ribbing or lobes on the calyx end of the fruit." Culinary characteristics: We've never cooked them. People and squirrels love to eat these pears fresh. Storage characteristics: No first-hand experience in storing them, but the patent says, "Fruit can be kept at room temperature for about one week and can be kept in cold storage (34°F.) for about two months." Harvest season: Mid-season; Late July-August in Pittsboro, NC. Patent says, "First picking date in 2001 was about August 6, and last picking date was about August 12." [in Vincennes, Indiana] Bloom season: said to be late by the originator: "Time of flower opening.--Flower opening in 2001 in West Lafayette, Ind. was about April 17 and bloom peaked at April 23". In my experience, ***vs '[Spalding](https://www.chathamapples.com/PearsNY/PearsSEUS.html#Spalding)' Diseases: Very resistant to fireblight. The originators say that it has similar fireblight resistance to Honeysweet’, but in my experience, it is much more resistant than ‘Honeysweet’. Somewhat resistant to pear leaf spot. The originators say it is sensitive to Psylla species, but they were never a problem in my orchards, so I can’t comment further.
Precocity: average precocity; first fruit set in 7th year on standard rootstock (probably ‘Bartlett’ seedling, although the stock was not labelled).
Productivity: Due to its unruly growth habit, the productivity of this cultivar is highly dependent on environmental conditions and care. Can be very productive and annual bearing. Patent says, “average production is 300 lbs. of fruit per tree” [on ‘Bartlett’ seedling rootstock]. A photo of my first tree of this cultivar is featured in the Gurney’s Seed catalogwhich illustrates the productiveness of this tree. (The other photos on this page are not from my trees.)
Growth habit: Miserable on standard rootstock. The trees are vigorous and send up many vertical watersprouts that then flop over in unpredictable ways. Crotch angles tend to be narrow unless trained early. Dwarfing rootstock is highly recommended! [Even though I have not personally grown this cultivar on dwarfing stock, putting wild, rangy and vigorous pears on dwarfing stock tends to be very useful in managing them.
References other than my own experience:
United States Patent Office, Plant Variety patent PP14034
@mayhaw9999 @Fusion_power @noogy @rubus_chief
Crisp and sweet like many of Dr. Bell’s recommendations that are very popular are partially fireblight resistant though less so than the true seckle. A true seckel is hard to find but they are fairly resistant to fireblight. The problem is 90% of what is sold as seckle pears are not. They might look like seckle though thats it. Seckle began ripening a many pears a week or more ago.
The harrow pears are the same way partially resistant.
Dr. Bell listed Harrow Delight as highly resistant though in my area these trees are killed all the time by fireblight. The sunrise pears have been killed 3 out of 4 times by fireblight in Kansas.
This is part of his research.
Purdue pears can be viewed here like green jade
These are real seckle
Well, I just missed that the EXPLETIVE Crisp 'n Sweet is a TM for Green Jade. Just another way to keep a variety from being “open source”. I’ve never grown it.
Does anyone have the breeding of the U of MN release Summercrisp. My brief search did not come up with it. I noticed that the Minnesota release: SUMMERCRISP PEAR - PYRUS 'SUMMERCRISP' | The UFOR Nursery & Lab
does not mention fire blight as a possible disease problem. Deliberate oversite??
Is anyone growing the Happi and Dew Drop pears or are they “club pears” that we will not be able to buy?
Summercrisp = Gaspard
Flemish Beauty x Orel no 15 (a pear from the Soviet Union, very cold hardy and FB resistant)
Orel no 15 is also the parent on Enie, Miney, and Moe from Canada
Thanks. Fireblight and cold temperature resistance from Orel.
Thank you for replying. i am limited in FB resistance choices for pears in my area. i’m observing some of my European and Asian pears. Issue not about not fruiting it is long term some sort of disease that affect my pears and not my other fruit trees. I assume FB or other pear disease. I think i do have some that died over winter but i don’t know why. I don’t believe the issue is too cold. Im in WA state zone 8B. These pears are hardy to zone 6 or 7.
39th Parallel sells scions of it.
I’ve learned a lot in the sense that theres so much more to learn specially in regards to location and microclimates its tough to make a once size fits all statement. In the rainy cloudy PNW you have different issues. Glad to be part of the journey.
I have been growing Dewdrop for a year or so. I have still not planted it in a permanent spot. It is in a 30 gal grow bag until Nov, when I will likely transplant it to its permanent location. I also put a graft onto a mature Clapps tree last spring. The graft was quite vigorous and I’m hoping it will fruit next year.
I recently had an outbreak of fireblight and almost all my pears had some strikes, including Magness which is supposed to be very resistant. Dewdrop was one of the few trees completely untouched by fireblight, so it truly seems resistant.
I am located in Canada, unfortunately for US growers Dewdrop doesn’t appear to be widely available yet.
Scions of which one?
Sometimes a young tree will not have fire blight because it did not bloom. That said, I have had young pears killed to the ground. But those were not blight resistant varieties.
The Green Jade pear. They’ve got the Dripping Honey one, too.
Thanks. I have Drippin’ Honey grafted two years ago. I’ve never wanted Green Jade as we have so much Prunus early in the season. We don’t want any more pears at that time.
I’m actually fairly sure that the dewdrop tree with no firelight did bloom this year. Whereas the Magness tree that did get mildly scorched by fireblight I’m pretty sure did not bloom.
So, I’m not sure if bloom vs no bloom would have been a factor in this case.
That’s interesting. Magness almost never gets blossom/twig blight but strikes on the trunk and larger limbs. Several of my other blight-resistant trees have a lot of blossom blight that does not run into the limbs, especially Shenandoah. But you never know. I have lost a young graft of Harrow Delight and major limbs of my Seckel. Maybe I don’t have the true Seckel but I think so. And, if you read these pear threads some strains of fire blight are more virulent than others and environmental conditions vary so much. The hot weather and humidity of the Eastern US and especially the Southeast are perfect for fire blight strikes throughout the growing season even if you escape blossom blight.
Here in the coastal cool area north of San Francisco, we usually escape the summer strikes and have an epidemic when the temperature is unusually warm and it rains during bloom. I have had some of the late-blooming varieties blight while the earlier-blooming ones escaped.
Kim,
Here are the varieties I listed that have fireblight resistance: Harrow Delight, Harvest Queen, Tyson, Beierschmitt, Warren and Magness, Seckel and Potomac.
I/m currently growing these from your summer pear list: Precoce Morettini, Stuttgarter Geishirtle, Ubileen Gift, Orcas. My largest issue is not FB but cedar rust. It affects all my pears and their fruits. FB is not as bad as cedar rust issue.
Spectracide Immunox is best for CAR, cedar apple rusts. mycobutanyl is the active ingredient.