To answer your original question, many call these the highest quality fireblight resistant pear to this date. If you like anjou you will enjoy this pear. My opinion is i have several that are slightly better flavored, but none that are overall better trees.
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Potomac are really doing well this year. Cummins said this about them
"Potomac is an excellent choice for both home orchards and commercial growers. This tree is suitable for organic production; it is vigorous and precocious, but most importantly, it is highly resistant to fireblight. Potomac is not self-fertile, and it will need a pollination partner. Seckel should be avoided, as Potomac is incompatable with this variety.
This pear is a cross of Moonglow and Anjou, and it is Anjou-like in form and flavor. Ripening about two weeks after Bartlett, the skin is glossy green and the flesh is fine, aromatic, and buttery. A subtle acid tang balances the sweetness. Potomac pears will store for up to ten weeks."
One thing i learned about this pear is that it doesn’t take long for it to produce but it does take a long time to get a full crop. Mine has a full crop this year and it is loaded!
So Delicious 
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There are hundreds of them this year ! Crop set is heavy and fruitlets good sized! Largest fruit set i ever saw on it.
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Good to hear! I got one this year and am babying it!
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The orange pippin site says Potomac is in FG3… with Harrow Sweet.
Just this year i have had good luck transplanting 2 callery into my field and grafting kieffer and imp kiefffer to them.
Once they get established good i would like to graft on a few other varieties … would love to have something that ripens earlier or later than (kieffer, imp kieffer) or is just quite different than the kieffer pears.
Harrow sweet is one variety i would sure like to try. Potomac … if it is a good pollination partner for HS… sounds like another i may want to add.
My #1 concern with pears is FB.
I have had several new pear trees here (over the years) make it to year 2 3 4 and die of FB. Apples too.
Potomac in this thread has been mentioned as being quite resistent to FB… and a delicious pear. Got my attention for sure.
Do any of you know if it works as a pollination partner for Harrow Sweet for you ?
Thanks
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It will work as a pollinator for harrow sweet and some others your interested in. Your in luck i was able to answer this quickly for you because i was looking up Korean Giant as a pollinator for harrow sweet for another thread to see if they overlap blooms in most regions. See they barely do or dont always in Kansas. Potomac and HS do overlap some but it is also finished blooming long ago. @mamuang and i discussed this on another thread. My harrow sweet are still blooming but korean Giant stopped blooming some time ago. Harrow sweet produces to many fruits anyway but those blooms wont get pollinated by KG . They are being pollinated by my small yellow pear. Maxine is another you should really consider. It blooms in the same group and the fruit are very good. List of pollination partners for Harrow Sweet pear
"# Pollination of Harrow Sweet pear trees
Harrow Sweet (Pyrus communis) is in flowering group 3. Harrow Sweet is not self-fertile and needs a pollination partner of a different variety nearby.Choose another variety
Varieties that will pollinate Harrow Sweet in our catalog
An early-season American pear variety, related to Bartlett but with an improved flavor and better storage.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Early
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Bartlett
A classic English pear, easy to grow, and a good flavor.
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Flowering group: 3
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Partially self-fertile
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Picking: Early
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Blake’s Pride
A modern fireblight resistant pear, which ripens mid-season, about a week later than Bartlett.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking:
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Brandy
A mid-season English perry pear which produces a low-tannin juice.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Late
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Butt
Butt is a traditional English perry pear, with medium acidity and medium tannins.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Late
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Flemish Beauty
A traditional European pear from Belgium, with the classic rich sweet buttery melting flesh. Flemish Beauty is also self-fertile and cold-hardy.
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Flowering group: 3
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Self-fertile
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Picking: Mid
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Gin
A rare English perry pear variety with good disease resistance and medium acid and tannins.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Very late
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Harrow Crisp
An attractive disease-resistant early-season pear with an orange flushed yellow skin, related to Bartlett and with a similar flavor.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Early
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Harrow Delight
Harrow Delight is an early-season Bartlett-style pear with a sweet flavor and good disease-resistance.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Early
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Hendre Huffcap
A well-known English perry pear variety, and a reliable cropper. Makes a light, low-tannin perry.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Late
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Honeysweet
Honeysweet is a self-fertile small late-season sweet pear, with buttery flesh, related to Seckel.
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Flowering group: 3
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Self-fertile
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Picking: Late
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Hosui
Hosui has perhaps the best flavor of any Asian pear - it is very juicy and very sweet.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Early
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Korean Giant
Korean Giant has potentially the largest fruits of any Asian pear variety.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Late
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Maxine
Maxine is a traditional American pear, with good fire blight resistance.
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Flowering group: 4
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Mid
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Moonglow
A high quality early season dessert and culinary pear, very resistant to fireblight.
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Flowering group: 3
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Good pollinator
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Early
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Niitaka
Niitaka is an Asian pear variety producing very large crisp russeted fruits.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Mid
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Potomac
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Late
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Red Clapp’s Favorite
A red form of Clapp’s Favorite, also known as Kalle. The pears have a sweet flavor, and ripen in late summer.
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Flowering group: 4
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Early
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Shenandoah
Shenandoah is a late-season Bartlett-style pear, with a rich sweet/sharp flavor.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Late
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Shinko
A classic Asian pear, with large golden brown russeted fruits which have a crisp sweet flesh.
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Flowering group: 2
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Late
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Shinseiki
This popular early-season Asian pear variety produces crisp sweet-flavored pears, which can be kept for up to 3 months.
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Flowering group: 3
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Partially self-fertile
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Picking: Early
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Shinsui
A popular and productive early-season Asian pear with a glowing golden brown skin and a sweet flavor.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Early
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Winnals Longdon
A traditional English perry pear variety, which produces a low tannin perry.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking: Late
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Yellow Huffcap
A popular English perry pear which produces a good quality low-tannin / medium-acid perry.
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Flowering group: 3
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Not self-fertile
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Picking:
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Yoinashi
Yoinashi is a mid-season Asian pear, with large golden brown russeted fruits.
- Flowering group: 3
- Not self-fertile
- Picking: Mid
"
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Clark, I’m not a fan of posting pollination lists. It ties up a lot of reading space and does not do much to inform. Can you reduce that to about 1 line per variety instead?
Why not? Because there are zero really good pollination charts published for pear. A good chart would indicate bloom period, self-incompatibility, self-sterility, and incompatibility with other varieties. As stated, such does not currently exist.
It was an exact quote in this case. Don’t want to take their work and not give them the credit. The simple answer yes might do for @TNHunter as well. The information might be more useful to others than you think.
I found online that kieffer pears normally ripen mid sept - mid oct. That seems to be true for them in my area.
That seems like possibly mid/late ripening ?
Harrow Sweet, Potomac and KG are deacribed as late season ripening. Maxine as mid ripening…
Since i will hopefully be busy with kieffer pears mid/late season… perhaps the best way to spread out my pear harvest would be to add early ripening varieties.
I do plan to add Orient and it ripens (late summer) which should be before kieffer ? and is said to pollinate with kieffer and moonglow and moonglow is said to be very resistent to FB and a early ripener.
I may just start out with adding some grafts of orient and moonglow to my kieffers… i may be perfectly happy with that.
Thanks
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@snowflake … hmmmm
Moonglow is said to be very resistent to FB … but not for you in your area.
I wonder if my callery rootstock might help with that. But yes that is concerning. FB has sure been a reality here with all the other pears i have tried. Killed them dead. Several apples too.
Perhaps i stop with adding some Orient to my kieffer trees.
Orient and Kieffer has worked well for Auburn down in AL… just south of me. Hopefully they work for me to.
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My guess is that it wasn’t tested nearly well enough. At on point, I saw where someone else in the east or southeast had problems with moonglow.
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Yes Clark, it is a post of a reasonably useful resource. Posting it in every pear thread on GF gets a bit redundant. As I mentioned earlier, it is a relatively poor resource because it has a limited number of varieties and the information presented is missing key pieces of information. Consider putting together a pollination sheet that shows these items:
Variety
Origin
Average bloom date
Self incompatible?
Pollen sterile?
Incompatibility with other varieties
Average fruit maturity date
Fruit use (fresh, storage, preserves, etc)
Fire blight susceptibility
Other diseases
Pests
You might ask the mods to set up a pollination specific thread for any and all fruit varieties. As an example, I have half a dozen good resources for pecan pollination that would be nice to have in a pollination specific sticky thread. Another thing some might like to see is a good list of varieties you have growing.
Think your aware i am a moderator. Constructing a list will take more time than i have to spare for a while. If you want, you and I can collaborate on it. It’s a good idea to have more pollination information for other people. @scottfsmith
ultimately decides website content. Let me know if your interested. Great idea!
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Do you have a good list of pear varieties? Yes, I know you are a mod, but also know it would need approval to set up a dedicated pollination sub-forum. It would be useful because virtually every plant we grow has some type of pollination requirement.
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Thanks @clarkinks … i will take that advice.
I looked up info on Ayers… self pollinating large fruit ripens August high resistence to FB. Sounds ideal. Known as a southern pear.
Auburn sent me some of those and i grafted them at my neighbors house to callery.
Ayers and orient are said to pollinate… and i have a graft of orient already on a callery in the edge of my field. Harrow delight … i started to ask about it earlier for early variety. Glad you recommended it.
If I get all of that going on here… i will be in pear heaven.
Thanks
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Ayers are not huge more of a medium pear Ayers pear!. Like harrow sweet they can be decent sized if thinned heavily.
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