Kieffer Pear Tree

$57.95

✓ The tough Southern homestead pear: heat, humidity and fire blight resistant
✓ Low chill, about 350 to 400 hours, for zones 4 to 9
✓ Partially self-fertile, heavier crops planted with Orient Pear
$46.36 with code SAVE20 at checkout
Seasonal shipping: bare root, ships December to March. Orders placed outside that window are reserved for the next one
Arrive Alive Guarantee: photos within 48 hours, replacement or refund, plus a 30-day guarantee
Free shipping on orders of $149 or more
Pre-order for the winter window: bare root tree, shipped dormant

Kieffer is the pear that built a thousand Southern homesteads — a famously tough 1870s European–Asian hybrid that shrugs off heat and humidity, resists fire blight, and produces enormous crops with minimal attention. It ships as a bare root tree, dormant, and its large golden fruit ripens off the tree in late summer into early fall.

Scientific name: Pyrus communis 'Kieffer'

Kieffer is the pear that built a thousand Southern homesteads. Dating to the 1870s, this European–Asian pear hybrid is famously tough: it shrugs off heat and humidity, tolerates soils that defeat fussier pears, resists fire blight, needs only about 350–400 hours of winter chill, and still produces enormous crops year after year with minimal attention. The large golden fruit is crisp and juicy with a coarse, slightly gritty texture — picked firm and ripened indoors, it is good fresh, and it is genuinely excellent canned, preserved, baked, or turned into pear butter, which is what most Kieffer growers grow it for.

You receive a bare root tree shipped dormant in the correct window for your zone. Kieffer grows vigorously and comes into bearing young, often within three to four years. For best results, keep another pear variety within pollination range — Orient is an ideal partner, and the two can pollinate each other. If you want one fruit tree that produces abundantly in the South with the least possible fussing, this is the traditional answer.

Photos: Gary Owens, CC BY 2.0, via NC State Extension Plant Toolbox.

Scientific name: Pyrus communis 'Kieffer'
USDA zones: 4–9
Sun: Full sun, 6–8+ hours
Chill hours: Approximately 350–400
Mature size: 15–20 ft if unpruned
First fruit: Often within 3–4 years
Harvest: Late summer into early fall; ripens off the tree
Format: Bare root tree, shipped dormant

Watering: Soak the bare roots 6–12 hours before planting (never more than 24), plant the same day, and water in with about 5 gallons. First week: 2–3 gallons every 2–3 days to keep roots moist. First month: about 5 gallons twice a week without good rain. First season: roughly 1 inch of water per week total, applied in deep soakings. Established Kieffers are among the most drought-tolerant of all fruit trees, but fruit sizes better with a deep soak every 2–3 weeks during prolonged dry spells, particularly while fruit is developing in summer.

Sun & soil: Full sun for best crops. Kieffer is unusually forgiving of soil — sand, loam, or clay all work if drainage is reasonable — and tolerates slightly acidic to neutral pH. Avoid spots where water stands for days.

Feeding: Very light feeder. A single balanced spring application per label, or just a compost mulch, is enough; excess nitrogen encourages soft growth that is more attractive to fire blight and delays bearing.

Pruning & winter notes: Prune modestly in late winter to a central leader, removing crossing branches and water sprouts. Pears resent heavy pruning — take less than you think. Pick fruit while still hard and green-gold and ripen at room temperature; tree-ripened Kieffers turn gritty at the core. Highly cold hardy and low-chill at once, an unusual and useful combination.

Partially self-fertile, so it will crop alone, but harvests are heavier with another pear nearby. Its best partner is Orient Pear, and the two pollinate each other. See the Orient Pear listing to plant the pair.

Flat $14.95 per order, however many plants you order. Free on orders of $149 or more. Orders are processed in 1 to 3 business days and typical delivery takes 7 to 15 business days. Your plant ships from a U.S. partner nursery, in its pot or dormant bare root, depending on the product and season.

Seasonal shipping: this plant ships December to March. Orders placed outside that window are reserved and ship when the season opens.

Arrive Alive Guarantee: if your plant arrives dead or badly damaged, email us photos within 48 hours of delivery and choose a replacement or a refund. 30-day guarantee: if your plant dies within 30 days despite proper care for its zone, we replace it or credit you. Dormant bare root that has not leafed out by June 1 is covered for replacement or credit. Refunds go to your original payment method within 5 to 10 business days.

Is Kieffer good eaten fresh?
Picked firm and ripened indoors, it is good fresh — and excellent canned, preserved or baked.

Do I need two pear trees?
Not strictly: it is partially self-fertile, but a second pear such as Orient improves the harvest notably.

How much work is it?
Very little: it tolerates heat, humidity and poor soils, resists fire blight, and needs only light pruning.

How to Plant a Bare Root Fruit Tree, Step by Step
Find Your Growing Zone
Orient Pear Tree
Cold Hardy Fruit Trees

Kieffer Pear Tree

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