Frost Pear Tree | Bare Root, Zone 3

Representative photo of a large Bartlett-shaped pear on the tree, not Frost itself

Frost Pear (Spring 2027)

$34.99

Reliable shipping

Flexible returns

Pollination Needs a partner

Bloom group 4 of 7 (Mid)

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 resistanceNot tested yet

Fire blight : Unknown, no published data yet
Pear scab : Unknown, no published data yet

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: Frost Pear is a pear tree rated hardy to zone 3 in our ratings (winters to -40°F), not self-fertile, so it needs a different variety nearby as a pollenizer (bloom group 4 of 7, mid for a European pear), and it ripens about Sep 21 to Oct 1 in Missoula (our Missoula estimate).

Hardy to	Zone 3 to 8. A bare number means the whole of zone 3, colder half included (winters to -40°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 4 of 7 (mid), mid spring here. Frost's pollination needs are unknown, so plant another pear nearby. A Bartlett-season pear is the safest bet for overlapping bloom. Good partners we carry: Bartlett Pear, Dana Hovey Pear, Flemish Beauty Pear, Honeysweet Pear and 29 more. Bloom group is our estimate from the variety's origin and relatives. Pear Pollination Map.
Ripens	About Sep 21 to Oct 1 in Missoula (a Missoula estimate from published sources). Real years swing about a week either way. See the date for your town.
Rootstock and size	OHxF 87: semi-dwarf, about 14 to 19 ft tall unpruned. The most precocious OHxF stock. Our rootstock guide.
Good for	Fresh eating (7/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists.
Deer	Sometimes damaged by deer.
What you get	Bare root, 2-3 ft or 3-5 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

A Bitterroot Ranch Pear

This selection was discovered on an old ranch in Montana's Bitterroot Valley. The old veteran was planted nearly 100 years ago, and according to Roger Joy, it used to win the blue ribbon at the county fair.

Where the Name Comes From

No positive identification has been made on this pear yet. So, continuing a tradition of more than twenty years, we're keeping the name it has long gone by, the ranch name "Frost," until a definite identification can be made.

Fruit

The fruit is quite large, similar to Bartlett in size and shape, with sweet, juicy, melting flesh. It ripens in late September.

Tree

The canopy is upright and vigorous, and the old tree has shown good disease resistance. A favorite in the Bitterroot and one we recommend for western Montana.

Frost is new for us, so we'll add our own notes once our trees are fruiting.

Representative photo of a large Bartlett-shaped pear, not Frost itself. Photo credit: “Foto Takkk Hungary Pyrus pear” by Takács István, via Wikimedia Commons, in the public domain.

Questions we get about Frost Pear

Does Frost Pear need a pollenizer?

Yes. Frost Pear needs pollen from a different variety that blooms at about the same time. Frost's pollination needs are unknown, so plant another pear nearby. A Bartlett-season pear is the safest bet for overlapping bloom. Partners we carry include Bartlett Pear, Dana Hovey Pear, Flemish Beauty Pear.

How cold hardy is Frost Pear?

We rate Frost Pear hardy to zone 3, which means winters down to about -40°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.

How many chill hours does Frost 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. An unidentified Bitterroot Valley heirloom with no published chill data. It's proven in Montana winters; plan on about 800 hours elsewhere. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

When does Frost Pear ripen?

About Sep 21 to Oct 1 in Missoula, Montana (an estimate built from published sources and our climate). Warmer places run earlier and cooler places later; our ripening map converts the date to your town.

How big does Frost Pear get?

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

What is Frost Pear good for?

Our top use scores for Frost Pear are fresh eating (7/10).

Is Frost Pear disease resistant?

We don't know yet. Nobody has published solid disease data on Frost Pear for fire blight and pear scab, so we list it as unknown instead of guessing. That doesn't mean it's weak. Plenty of the plants we grow have never been through formal disease trials. Our pear disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Will deer eat Frost Pear?

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

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Pollination partners

Trees that will pollenize Frost Pear

Frost 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 4 of 7 (Mid)

Pollination Needs a partner

Pollen Not tested yet

33 trees we carry will pollenize it. 24 in stock now.