Magness is highly resistant to fireblight. The main cultivation difficulty with this variety is that it can be slow to bear. This is addressed by using OHxF rootstocks and by spreading young limbs. Mature trees are productive if pollination is provided; Magness is not self-fertile, and it does not provide viable pollen for other varieties. There are, however, no known European pear varieties with which Magness will not set fruit.

Ripening late, about three weeks after Bartlett, the fruit is medium sized, oval, and lightly russeted. It is a dessert pear of the highest quality, with soft, juicy, and aromatic flesh. Our nursery manager says that it is "unparalleled," and that "at the crown of the Tree of Life, a Magness awaits all who seek it." I guess he likes it. It will ripen well after being in cold storage for as long as three months (maybe longer at the top of the Tree of Life).

Magness is a cross of Seckel and Doyenne du Comice, both of which are outstanding dessert pears. It is named for John R. Magness, who was chief of the Fruit and Nut Crops section of the USDA until 1959.