Pear Harvest 2025

[mayhaw9999]

I’m starting a little late this year. Too many things are happening on the Ulmer Acre this year to think much about pear harvest, so the early ripening pears have been neglected.
Citron de Carmes
As was the case last year, my first pear to ripen this year was Citron de Carmes.

It started falling in the second week of June, two weeks earlier than last year. You can see images by linking to: Pear Harvest 2024
They lasted about 10 days.

In early July, my first-ever fruit of Buerre Giffard ripened along with Ubileen Gift. Here are the photos and descriptions.

Buerre Giffard:

Here is the description from Cummings Nursery:
A cold-hardy, heirloom dessert pear from France. Also known as Buerre Gifford, Giffard Pear.

This tree is resistant to scab, mildew, and fireblight. It is vigorous and productive with an easily managed, willowy habit. Buerre Giffard is quince compatible.
Ripening early, these pears are small, sweet, and flavorful. The delicate skin is yellow-green with a pink blush and the flesh is white, tender, and juicy. These pears are ready to eat just a few days after harvest and they do not store long. The flavor gets rave reviews. H. Hartmann of the Oregon Experiment Station writes, “Flesh yellowish, granular at the center, melting, very juicy. Vinous, aromatic flavor. Rates among the best of the early pears in dessert quality.”
This pear was discovered by Nicolas Giffard in Foussiers, France, 1825, as a chance seedling.

Ubileen Gift ususally just called Ubileen:

From Raintree’s Website:
Start the season off right with Ubileen! A large, sweet, aromatic, pear from Bulgaria, with yellow skin and a pretty red blush when fully mature. The flavorful flesh is fine textured and buttery. It is harvested in early August and top rated among thousands of pears from around the world at the USDA national pear Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon.
Ubileen is both a very early bloomer (bloom category 1), and one of the first pears to ripen each season. Early testing appears to show good resistance to fireblight.

That’s all for today. I’ll post others as soon as I have time and energy.

[clarkinks]

@mayhaw9999

Good to see you posting. We all always enjoy your posts!

[mayhaw9999]

Thanks, Clark.
Here are today’s notes:

In July, I picked the following.

Harrow Delight between July 18 and July 29. They ripened beautifully and I dried my first pears of the season. Link to 2004 notes and photos: Pear Harvest 2024 - #35 by rubus_chief

Harvest Queen between July 15 and July 29. My graft is not doing well. Only a few fruit this year.

Starkrimson (AKA Kalle, Red Clapp’s Favorite) Between July 19 and July 24. Link to last year: Pear Harvest 2024 - #5 by mayhaw9999

And finally, I started picking Buttirra Rosata Morettini (BRM) on July 29. The last pear on the tree matured on August 20. They have been ripening well. I made a pear tart yesterday, 8/30/2025, with a combination of BRM and Nye Russet Bartlett,

which was excellent.

I’ll start the other August pears later.

[mayhaw9999]

Post removed

[mayhaw9999]

In my notes, I try to use the term mature meaning the fruit is ready to be picked from the tree and will ripen properly. Ripe means ready to eat. For some varieties, it can be the same time, but for most pears, they should be picked before they are ripe. Some varieties are notorious for developing core breakdown while still on the tree and appearing not ready to pick.

Beierschmitt started maturing on August 9 and I picked the last one today, 8/31. As many of you know, this is one of my favorite varieties. I have grown it both in Mississippi and northern California. It has never had fireblight but is not listed as a fireblight-resistant variety. Excellent flavor, and ripens without refrigeration. The season is about the same as Bartlett’s here.

I picked the four pears on my young Rescue tree on August 18. I tried two of them yesterday. One was too ripe and the other still not ready. I have one more to watch and hopefully I will test it at the correct time.

‘Rescue’ - found by Knox Nomura, a nursery grower near Buckley, WA. He had seen the pear at fruit shows but the exhibitor never allowed anyone to take cuttings from his tree during his lifetime, and after his death the tree was scheduled for removal to expand an adjacent cemetery. Knox Nomura “rescued” scionwood from this original tree, and sent trees to Mount Vernon in 1975 for testing. Introduced in 1987. – Washington State University, Mount Vernon

Here are pictures of this year’s fruit.

Saint André’s fruit came off the tree August 19 as I was checking another variety. I didn’t get to taste it last year, so I’m anxious to try it.

From Hedrick’s Pears of New York
Fruit medium or below, ovate, rather symmetrical, bossed and sometimes a little ventriculated in its lower half; skin fine and smooth, yellow-green, dotted and streaked with gray, very rarely colored on the cheek next the sun; flesh greenish-white, fine and most melting, extremely juicy, sweet, saccharine, slightly vinous, delicate and highly perfumed; first; Oct.

On August 22, I started picking Nye Russet Bartlett. The pears are huge this year. The first to ripen was used in a pear tart yesterday, 8/30/2025. Excellent. I picked the final pears on August 29.
From Brooks and Olmo Register of Fruit and Nut Varieties.
Nye Russet Bartlett (PI 541236).-Originated in Talent, Oregon, by Stephen G. Nye of Medford, Oregon Introduced experimentally in 1937. Bud mutation of Bartlett; discovered in 1924. Fruit: skin deep yellow overlaid with a very attractive smooth light golden russet; resembles Bartlett, but ripens 1 week later, firmer, somewhat more spicy than that variety. Tree: similar in performance and fire blight susceptibility to Bartlett. -

Also on August 22, I started picking Seckel but pears had been falling for several days before that. As of today, 8/31/2025, there are a few pears remaining to be picked, I’m hopeful that the fruit are as flavorful this year as those I remember from my tree in MS. This is a graft from another tree that had two significant fire blight strikes. Maybe I don’t have the true Seckel, although I grafted another clone obtained from our local scion exchange that looks and tastes the same. In another thread, Clark mentioned that the true Seckel is very fire blight resistant. That has not been the experience here with my clone. My neighbor has two Seckel trees obtained from a commercial nursery. One of the 20+ year old trees was killed to within a foot of the ground during our last fire blight epidemic in 2022.

From H. Hartman 1957 Oregon Agricultural Experimental Station
Fruit very small in size unless heavily thinned and properly grown. Obovate-pyriform in shape, usually symmetrical. Skin dull brownish-yellow in color, usually overlaid with russet and blushed dull red. Flesh somewhat granular some grit at the centers, buttery and very juicy. Noted for sweet, aromatic, spicy flavor. Rates among the best in dessert quality. Early midseason. Susceptible to core breakdown if held on the tree too long and does not ripen properly if harvested prematurely. does not respond well to cold storage. Tree moderately vigorous, sturdy, strong, very productive with a tendency to overbear. somewhat resistant to fire blight.

[Fusion_power]

Is that a deliberate double post?

I had successful grafts of all the varieties you sent me this year including Butirra Rosatta Morettini. Next winter/spring will be interesting as I work out where to set out all the trees I have. I’m up to about 87 varieties. Some day soon, I’ll post some variety reviews!

[evilpaul]

Is anyone picking Yoinashi yet? I’ve had one small one (I don’t know how large to expect, but I think I probably thinned them inadequately) that matured early despite looking outwardly fine and no internal defects I was able to notice and have had two drops since. They’ve lost much of the green and bronzed up over the past week. One of the drops seemed likely slightly immature, but had black seeds.

[mayhaw9999]

That was not a deliberate double post. I need to edit it. Hopefully, I’ll get back to the thread soon

[mayhaw9999]

Just removed the double post.

[mayhaw9999]

Here are a few more varieties that I picked in late August.
California was first picked on August 29. Go to the 2023 thread to read about it.
Here is what it looks like when ripe:

Potomac had a very good crop this year. The fruit are not as bumpy this year as last year but still more than what Dr Bell said in his introduction of the fruit, “occasional slight bumpiness”.

Finally:
Fondante de Moulins Lille I picked most on August 28, but I noticed a few still on the tree today, September 10.

[mayhaw9999]

Gorham was picked on 8/29/2025. This is a very good pear. My small tree was damaged severely by fire blight in 2021, losing the entire central leader. It has, however, recovered enough to give me a dozen beautiful pears this year.
Here is a note about the pear from Oregon:
A cross of Bartlett and Josephine de Malines made in 1910 at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, New York. Released for trial in 1923. Fruit generally resembles Bartlett in size but is inclined to be a little more roundish in form. Skin fairly smooth, waxy, deep yellow in color, slight russeting around the stem, attractive. Flesh very fine, white, free of grit, buttery, extremely juicy, sweet, vinous flavor equal to Bartlett in dessert quality. Keeps about on month longer than Bartlett in cold storage. Tree vigorous, spreading in habit, very productive, superior to that of Bartlett as an orchard tree. Moderately susceptible to blight. Performance of this variety has been outstanding at the Southern Oregon Branch Experiment Station. – H. Hartman, Oregon Ag. Experiment Station, 1957.

[jrd51]

Harrow Delight has been ridiculously productive – again. This bin reflects roughly 1/3 of the crop from a 15’ tree on OHxF87. Fruit is delicious.

ps. Friends here have corrected me – this is Harrow Sweet.

[Robert]

Are they ripening good with no fridge time? Is the taste like Harrow Sweet, basically Bartlett? Mine has been taking forever to produce.

[clarkinks]

@jrd51

Those look more like harrow sweet than harrow delight. Harrow delight ripens around august 1st on hot years in zone 6. Harrow sweet is in season now. They are very delicious. Harrow delight are slightly different.

Harrow Delight Pear

ARS grin offers Harrow delight scions. Harrow delight is a pear of interest to me because it grafts 100% on most every rootstock every time. That seemed like to big of a coincidence so I researched it’s genetics and it’s (Old Home x Early Sweet) x Bartlett. Since it has the famous old home genetics it grafted to every callery I tried it on. Old home x farmingdale is easily the most popular rootstock. I’m really impresed with the Canadian pear breeding program. That makes way more sense now bu…

Guess my estimated ripening date of harrow sweet. September 10th !

Harrow sweet pears aka HW609

Harrow sweet pears are a trade marked name. AC™ Harrow Sweet was developed from a cross of Bartlett x Purdue 80-51 (Old Home x Early Sweet). This same cross also produced Harrow Delight. - AC™ Harrow Sweet Pear on OHxF 87 - Cummins Nursery - Fruit Trees, Scions, and Rootstocks for Apples, Pears, Cherries, Plums, Peaches, and Nectarines. Many times i see people interested in these pears but usually for other purposes than facts.

[jrd51]

Thanks for the input. Pear ID has been a nightmare for me:

1. My “Harrow Sweet” purchased in 2016 (Grandpa’s) appears to be rootstock only (OHxF87). This is documented elsewhere. I will top-work it next year.

2. My first “Harrow Delight” purchased in 2017 (also Grandpa’s) ripens now (OHxF97). That’s the fruit pictured immediately above. Maybe it is actually “Harrow Sweet”? That would be ironic.

3. My second “Harrow Delight” purchased in 2018 (Cummins) ripens mid to late August (OHxF87), as you suggest it should.

Knowing only the names, you’d suspect that I accidentally reversed the labels or screwed up my notes. But I purchased and planted these trees in different years, which makes a mix-up difficult. Nevertheless, I will double-check that I did not make a “clerical error.”

[jrd51]

@Robert

Are they ripening good with no fridge time? Is the taste like Harrow Sweet, basically Bartlett?

These ripen on a kitchen counter with a few days off the tree. I just picked these, so I’m judging from (1) past years, and (2) fruit that fell to the ground.

I can’t tell you if they taste just like Harrow Sweet, unless they are actually Harrow Sweet (see other message), because I never tasted Harrow Sweet to my knowledge.

[Robert]

Clarks right they do look like Harrow Sweet. From the pics I’ve seen of Harrow Delight they have a more rounded top. Haven’t tasted my HD yet, but HS taste pretty much just like Bartlett.

[Fusion_power]

Perspective is a bit distorted, but it is about 3.5 inches diameter. Flavor was good to very good although just a tad past fully ripe. I would describe it as a slightly too sweet almost syrupy Asian pear flavor.

[Audi_o_phile]

@Fusion_power

it is about 3.5 inches diameter.

I was glad to discover that the fruit my tree produced was roughly that same size. The Asian pears that I was familiar with that had been purchased from the Korean grocery were always so large that they could feed three people, so I had trepidation at planting four trees which could potentially produce such large fruit. I hope that all of my varieties bear similarly.

[clarkinks]

@jrd51

I’m always glad to help on pears. You have been very kind to me, helping me understand persimmons better. You’re a true expert on persimmons and you help us all very much. When you cross over into the pear world, that is where my expertise exists. If you need true to type scions or help sorting something out, you can trust that you’re talking to the right person. When i say that might be harrow sweet, i’m actually 100% certain what it is when i see it.