Yields ripe fruit typically in mid-September or mid-October. Pick while the fruit is still hard and store in a cool place. Bears a heavy crop, beginning when young and continuing dependably for many years. Blooms late in the season with white flowers.

How do you know when Kieffer pears are ripe?

Harvest ripe Kieffer pears when they begin to turn from green to yellow. Kieffer pears are fully ripe when they have turned from green to yellow. Ripe pears are firm but the stem end of the pear yields to gentle pressure from your thumb and the fruit stem separates easily from the spur. Soft Kieffer pears are overripe.

Do Kieffer pears ripen off the tree?

You see, there is virtue in this hard fruit if you can't go to the grocery store every few days: the Kieffer pear stores and ripens after an initial chilling period so this is perfect if you want pears in the root cellar to last through the winter!