Clara Frijs Pear Tree | Bare Root, Zone 3b

Clara Frijs Pear (Spring 2027)

$49.99

Reliable shipping

Flexible returns

Pollination Needs a partner

Bloom group 5 of 7 (Mid-Late)

See trees that will pollenize it Pear Pollination Map

Ripening

Will it finish before your first hard freeze?

Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)

Disease resistanceNo strong resistance

Fire blight : Unknown, no published data yet
Pear scab : Moderate, 3 of 5

Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.

See it on our pear disease chart (opens in a new tab)

At a glance: Clara Frijs Pear is a pear tree rated hardy to zone 3b from Bob Purvis's reports (winters to -35°F), and not self-fertile, so it needs a different variety nearby as a pollenizer (bloom group 5 of 7, mid-late for a European pear).

Hardy to	Zone 3b to 8. The b means the warmer half of zone 3 only (winters to -35°F). Bob Purvis reports flower buds hardy to at least -34°F. Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator.
Chill hours	About 800 hours (600 to 1,000). Our estimate. No published figure exists for this variety yet. Montana winters give it plenty. In milder climates, make sure your winters average at least this much. Check your chill hours or see our sources.
Pollination	Needs Cross-Pollination. Bloom group 5 of 7 (mid-late), mid spring here. Clara Frijs needs a second pear. It blooms a couple of days after Bartlett, so Clapp's Favorite or Bartlett give the best overlap. Good partners we carry: Clapp's Favorite Pear, Cold Snap® Pear, Concorde Pear, Golden Russet Bosc Pear and 17 more. Pear Pollination Map.
Rootstock and size	OHxF 87: semi-dwarf, about 14 to 19 ft tall unpruned. The most precocious OHxF stock. Plant about 15 ft apart. Our rootstock guide.
Good for	Fresh eating (8/10), juice and sweet cider (6/10). Scores are our 1 to 10 ratings, but we're still new to this one, so they lean on published descriptions and other growers rather than our own harvests. 8 and up makes our Best Of lists.
Deer	Sometimes damaged by deer.
What you get	Bare root, 3-5 ft or 5-7 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

This is our first year growing Clara Frijs, so everything below is secondhand until we get more long-term data from our own mother trees.

Overview

Clara Frijs is a Danish summer pear with a reputation for flavor. Fedco quotes grower Mark Fulford, who says it's the "most like nectar" of the 40 pear varieties he's grown, and Bob Purvis describes the flavor as "a cross of honey with vanilla."

Origin and History

The full name is Comtesse Clara Frijs. According to Fedco, it was first described in 1858 by J.A. Bentzien in the Danish garden journal Dansk Haugetidende and is thought to come from the village of Skensved. The Danish pomology Danmarks Frugtsorter (1955) also gives Skensved, before 1858, and calls it a major variety in Denmark. Hedrick included it in The Pears of New York (1921).

Fruit and Uses

Hedrick's entry is short: "Fruit medium to large, pale yellow, dotted; flesh white, melting, juicy, sugary, perfumed; good; Aug." Fedco adds that it's a warm yellow-green with a rather thick skin, sometimes a slight pink blush, and covered in tiny gray dots, with buttery, aromatic flesh that's "firm but not crisp" and has no grit cells. It's a summer pear that ripens well off the tree, and Fedco says it keeps about a month. This is a dessert pear, and Purvis notes it's been very popular at a farmers' market in southwest Minnesota.

Growth Habit and Spacing

Ours are on OHxF 87 semi-dwarf rootstock, which runs about 75% the size of a full size pear. Plan on about 15 feet between trees, 12 feet if you're committed to pruning, or up to 18 feet for more room. Purvis says the tree is very productive, and Fedco calls it a "solid rugged hardy tree." We haven't found good data on how it handles fire blight, so don't count on resistance.

Pollination

Plant it with another pear. Fedco recommends a second variety for best pollination. It blooms mid to mid-late, so pair it with Clapp's Favorite, Concorde, Cold Snap, Golden Russet Bosc, Harrow Sweet or Ubileen.

Cold Hardiness

Bob Purvis reports flower buds hardy to at least -34F in southwest Minnesota. That's a documented number, and it puts Clara Frijs right at our zone 3b line (-35F). Fedco rates it zone 4.

Image credit: chromolithograph of the ‘Comtesse Clara Frijs’ pear by Henriette Sjöberg (1842 to 1915), via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Photo: “Clara Frijs Skjensvedpaere” by Bahnmoeller, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.

Questions we get about Clara Frijs Pear

Does Clara Frijs Pear need a pollenizer?

Yes. Clara Frijs Pear needs pollen from a different variety that blooms at about the same time. It blooms a couple of days after Bartlett, so Clapp's Favorite or Bartlett give the best overlap. Partners we carry include Clapp's Favorite Pear, Cold Snap® Pear, Concorde Pear.

How cold hardy is Clara Frijs Pear?

We list Clara Frijs Pear at zone 3b, which means winters down to about -35°F. That comes from Bob Purvis, who reports flower buds hardy to at least -34°F in southwest Minnesota, not from our own winters yet. We'll update it once we've wintered our own trees.

How many chill hours does Clara Frijs Pear need?

About 800 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 600 and 1,000. Nobody has published a chill figure for it, so that's our estimate from its relatives and origin. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

How big does Clara Frijs Pear get?

We graft Clara Frijs Pear onto OHxF 87 (semi-dwarf), which makes a tree roughly 14 to 19 ft tall if you never prune it. Plant about 15 ft apart.

What is Clara Frijs Pear good for?

Our top use scores for Clara Frijs Pear are fresh eating (8/10), juice and sweet cider (6/10). Since we're still new to it, those scores lean on published descriptions and other growers rather than our own harvests. Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

Is Clara Frijs Pear disease resistant?

Somewhat. It holds up moderately well against pear scab. Nobody has published solid data on it for fire blight yet, so we list that as unknown. Our pear disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Will deer eat Clara Frijs Pear?

Sometimes. Deer browse Clara Frijs Pear now and then, so protect young plants where deer pressure is high.

What arrives, and when does Clara Frijs Pear ship?

A dormant bare-root plant, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. Sizes offered: 3-5 ft or 5-7 ft. We guarantee our plants bud out. Stone fruits can be slow, so if one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.

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Pollination partners

Trees that will pollenize Clara Frijs Pear

Clara Frijs Pear needs a different European pear nearby to set fruit. Every tree below blooms at the same time and has pollen that works for it. Plant partners within about 100 feet.

Bloom group 5 of 7 (Mid-Late)

Pollination Needs a partner

Pollen Good pollenizer

21 trees we carry will pollenize it. 14 in stock now.