Although we do not have Vermont Beauty in its pure form, we are offering Vermont Beauty seedlings due to their excellent cold hardiness, great flavor, and especially their disease resistance, as they are highly resistant to fireblight.

The fruit is lemon yellow with yellow-tinged flesh. It essentially melts in your mouth, offering a juicy, smooth, dense texture that’s fine-grained. It keeps well for about 2-3 months and survives down to at least -30°F. Ideal for Zone 4a (possibly 3b).

A Note on the Genetics of These Vermont Beauty Seedlings

We believe it’s important to grow from seed and for people to cultivate their own unique trees—the next Seckel! Every tree is genetically unique, just like us. When we grow from seed, we allow biology to continue collecting information (through genes) rather than locking it in a biological time capsule. This process allows other forms of biology to adapt and "catch up" with its "older" genes, which can eventually help combat diseases.

The fact that one of the parent trees of these seedlings has a high degree of fireblight resistance means its progeny will likely inherit this resistance as well. As for the other European pears the parent could have crossed with, it’s hard to say. However, one thing is likely certain: these seedlings’ hardiness is strong. Of the 30 pear trees in the vicinity of this Vermont Beauty, only one (an Abate Fetel) was considered a Zone 5 pear. The breakdown was as follows: 17/30 (56%) were Zone 4, 10/30 (33%) were Zone 3, and 2/30 (7%) were Zone 2. This means the progeny will likely inherit cold hardiness in the range of Zone 4 (56%) or colder (40%).

Seedling Size

These seedlings are small, ranging from 6–12” tall.