Pears that grow in Zone 4

General Fruit Growing
#21

You might enjoy this thread Recommendations for Cold Hardy Pears, Zone 4 and this one Rootstock for Ure, Golden Spice and Early Gold pear - #2 by clarkinks and this one Early cold-hardy pear varieties? and this one Krazulya Pear - #2 by clarkinks and this one Russian pears for zone 2 - some info I found . @Bernie @hungryfrozencanuck4b from Canada are familiar with russian pears in zone 4 as there may be additional options now. I would also consider contacting Bob Purvis https://purvisnurseryandorchard.weebly.com/ . I have not spoke with Bob in a couple of years but he’s very good with cold climate orchards Bob Purvis Scions eg. Giffard pear was mentioned as a great pear for Alaska https://www.apfga.org/giffard-a-pear-for-alaska/
Alaska fruit growers mention several pears here Alaska Fruit Trees - Pears

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#22

Just want to add that Summercrisp is a decent tasting fruit. I’m in southern Ontario so Canadian 5b. We get questionable cold snaps so
I hedged my bets by going with hardier than I technically need.
For us, it produces in mid august, and that was even with a very late start last year.
I would consider it more of a cooking than fresh eating pear. Solid and does cook and can nicely but a bit hard and not super sweet with some of the grittiness you get in pears.

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#23

Parker is early and keeps well:

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#24

What are your thoughts on the Flemish Beauty so far?

#25

It didn’t survive it’s first winter here. I know two other guys within an hour who also lost theirs due to winter damage. I wouldn’t plant another

#26

Are your winters to harsh for this cultivar? I see that you’re located in a zone 3 micro climate.

#27

Typically, in my zone 4b our winters get into the negative teens without windchill factored in. We had a good snow pack at this time this past winter which must of been a good thing for my young whips in the orchard. Only 2 of the 15 bench grafts I did took so my approach now is to grow the rootstocks for one year in the protected nursery.

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#28

I grow my pears in the field a year or 2 before grafting them. My zone 6 area is not ocerly cold but it is harsh. We were zone 5 then were reclassified 6.

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#29

This area is rated zone 4a now. It used to be zone 3b before “climate change”. There are a number of apple and pear varieties that will survive here. It appears that Flemish Beauty is not one of them.

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#30

I like the reviews of the Flemish Beauty so, I’m going to give it a go if I can locate some scions that is.

#31

I have a Flemish, Summercrisp, Clapps, Luscious near St. Paul, MN. The Clapps has had a few light crops due to cold winters, but the rest seem quite hardy. On northern limits of zone 4a.

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#32

Flemish Beauty should be an easy scion find. If not for free/trade, certainly for purchase.

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#33

St. Paul was 4a on the old USDA zone map. It’s now solidly 4b

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#34

I just did a research of my area and it’s still a solid 4b, that’s a limiting factor with a good number of pears I’m sure. I did go out on a limb though with a good number of the apple varieties I’ve planted out in the orchard.

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#35

There is someone growing a pear tree in Northern Vermont, that is high production there, based upon what I heard about it I think that it’s probably the ‘Early seckel’ variety. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail?id=1436120

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