A very beautiful heirloom apple that stores well.
Magness Pear on OHxF 87 (Spring 2025)
An aromatic dessert pear that has high resistance to fireblight. Also known as US 3866-E.
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.
The Fruit
Fruit Type
Category: Pear
Subcategory:
European
Fruit Uses & Storage
Uses: fresh eating, canning
Storage duration: one to three months (approximate, depending on storage conditions)
Fruit Appearance
Skin color: yellow
Flesh color: cream
Fruit Origins
Parentage: Doyenne du Comice
Origin: Maryland
Introduced in: 1968
Introduced by: USDA
The Environment
Calendar & Geography
USDA zones: 5 - 8
Chill hours: 400
Ripening date: Sep 09 (approximate, in New York State) + 20 days after Bartlett
Tree Height & Spacing
glossary
Rootstock: OHxF 87 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Half-Standard (75% of Standard)
Tree spacing: See details
Good for wildlife planting? N
Diseases & Pests
glossary
Fireblight: Resistant
Pollination
Pollination Factors
glossary
Bloom group: 3
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile? N
Ploidy: Triploid
Rootstock size class:
Half-Standard (75% of Standard)
Pollination Partners
This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Magness Pear on OHxF 87. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.
See all pollination matches for Magness Pear on OHxF 87
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