Cold Snap® Pear

Overview

Originally bred as Harovin Sundown in the 1970s by H. A. Quamme, this variety was licensed to the Vineland Innovation and Research Center, which began selling trees in 2015.

Why We're Growing Cold Snap

Although this is our second year growing Cold Snap, we were enticed by its breeding for Ontario’s cold climate and its strong disease resistance. Hardy down to -40°F, these pears will thrive across much of Montana—except in some of the more brutal areas east of the Divide. If you're in a spot that regularly sees temps colder than -40°F, we recommend going with one of the Russian pears grafted onto Ussurian pear. (We have several of those for Spring 2027, including Krazulya, Larinskaya, Krasnobokaya and Vekovaya.)

Rootstock and Tree Sizes

These Cold Snap pears are grafted onto OHxF87 rootstock, which is also hardy to -40°F to -45°F. Trees come in two sizes (same age but one grew better in the nursery):

• Current-year bare root stock: 2-3 ft. tall

• Current-year bare root stock: 3-5 ft. tall