I’m wondering how large other’s Summercrisp pears are? I’m getting my first harvest of 5 pears (not counting one pear in 2013 before it died back). One dropped last night and one came off in my hand when I tried to gently determine if it was getting soft (wasn’t). Attractive fruit, still hard, but only 1 1/2" across. I’m hoping this just happens to be a “small” year and I can look forward to larger fruit in the future. I know it’s not a large pear but these are kinda small (I have rather small hands).
Though I’m happy to get anything really. Planted in 2006 (from Fedco, OHxF97 rootstock) it grew well but died back in 2014 (tough winter). I thought it was gone but it grew new limbs (below snow line) and I let one grow into the “new” tree. Been doing well since. So it’s 5th leaf on 13 yr tree. Nice to finally be getting some fruit. Sue
Sue, I don’t know Summercrisp, but when you said it grew new limbs below the snow line I had to wonder if the new limbs were from the Summercrisp or maybe from the rootstock i.e., below the graftline. If so, it’s no longer Summercrisp, but whatever OHx97 produces.
Those are Summercrisp, and typical size. Looks like you got to them in time, my first year harvesting them I left them on the tree too long and they were beautifully skinned inedible mush.
@marknmt, thankfully it grew above the graft, several branches from the trunk that was below snow line. It was a tough winter with several that didn’t make it.
@jesses, thanks for the heads up on catching them early. It’s a nice growing tree and we’ve grafted several branches of larger pears on it. But I’m sure I`ll make use of the small originals. What do you do with yours? Sue
I have only got about 2 so far from my summercrisp. Those very similar but ours were a bit larger. I found the texture not great and used them as a cooking rather than fresh eating pear. (bit of a disappointment that)
I also find them not that good for fresh eating, but fine for cooking. The peels are very tender, so you can leave them on. Mine have also been quite small.
My summercrisp is only 3 years old so I’ve only gotten 1 pear so far Hoping for a few more next year. It was smaller than yours, but pretty tasty. The shape of your pears is interesting, almost round! Mine was definitely pear shaped.
My summercrisp were ready to pick (green/ripe stage) last weekend. The tree is loaded with more than I can eat. I filled up the crisper in my home refrigerator and the rest the pigs will eat. For me Honeycrisp is a vigorous tree that got huge! I keep it topped at 14’ in height but it is a wide tree and normally produces a very heavy crop.
The fruit is small. Some years it is sweet and others it is not. Best eaten while still firm and crispy.
Anyone know if it works well for pear wine? We have always used Bartlett for pear wine but that decision cuts into how many bartletts are left for canning. I suppose trial is the only way to tell. But if you have tried using Summercrisp for pear wine let me know the results!
2020 update - I got a nice small 6# harvest from my medium size Summercrisp mid August. Fruit not real flavorful but OK. I made sauce which was mild and a little gritty but fine. I’d added my first small harvest of aronia berries to the sauce and boy did that turn it purple!
I like Summercrisp more as a “rootstock” tree than for the fruit, especially since this year my two other fruiting pears (an inedible 40’ rootstock pear and a Stacey) got hit terrible with fireblight, maybe 90% brown. While nearby Summercrisp (and all its grafts) was clean and healthy. I have several grafts growing on it but mostly Sierra. I’ll leave some original branches though. I appreciate any tree that is healthy and gives fruit! Sue
My summercrisp gave me about 40 pears this year. First year to get a decent harvest. Overall they were ok. The flavour was mild, quite sweet, but most of them had quite astringent peels which weren’t super enjoyable. I picked mine in the middle of August as they’re reported to be an early pear, but maybe that’s too early. They were indeed crisp, almost like an Asian pear, and most quite small. I tried to make a pear liqueur with some but the flavour wasn’t really strong enough to make it very good. The rest I ate fresh. They stored very well in the fridge and the flavour improved after a month.
As I said in another post, I let them soften on the counter, then cut them in 4-6 sections, removed the cores, put them in ziplocks with a couple spoonsful of sugar to help preserve the flavor. Freeze them peels and all. They may turn a little dark in freezer. Then make pear crisp. The darkness all disappears when you bake them. The peelings nearly melt away. Absolutely delicious! No need to feed them to the pigs.
Hoping for a few more next year. It was smaller than yours, but pretty tasty. The shape of your pears is interesting, almost round! Mine was definitely pear shaped.
