Next Crop Available October 15, 2020
Moonrise pear is the wild form of the cultivated Asian pear. It is found in some of the toughest climates in the world growing out of granite outcrops in the mountains of Korea. The fruit is extremely tart and almost impossible to eat fresh. Much like a medlar, letting it sit to ripen on the ground and processing it with sugar into syrup or jam is one way to tame its flavor. With the use of a Vita-mix or nutribullet, you can puree it easily and use a sweetener to reduce the bitter and astringent compounds. This makes it possible to enjoy its health benefits. We think it might be a very high mineral rich pear species with a deep taproot much like hickory. Moonrise pear ripens its fruit starting in July and goes through September. it is a very early pear here at our farm in southern Michigan.
After twenty years or growing on our 'denuded' hillside this pear has no issues with disease or any insect. . Each tree produces huge amounts of fruit growing all along the branches like the crab-apple of pears. The question might be what to do with it? The deer consume the fruit and so a lot of birds as it begins to break down. Humans on the other hand will have to process it to lower the astringency mainly by adding sweetener otherwise it is like an unriper persimmon and will make ones mouth 'awry with much anguish' unless sweetened. Then it is quite delicious and the syrup of it is very good.
This species pear is useful for grafting. The extreme drought tolerance is a good characteristic to posses as a root stock. The fruit has been known for some time as a hang over cure. The compounds in the fruit are said to relieve the systems of hangover quickly. But consuming the fruit fresh is out of the question. It is just too astringent. Cooking the fruit and pureeing it and then adding equal amounts of sugar tends to tame the wild flavor into a more palatable jam or jelly. Like the intense crab-apples, Moonrise has a high pectin level as well and the fruit makes a very dense jam to say the least.
Field grown is available dormant from mid October to late November and from March to late April.
| Plant Specs |
| Genus & Species |
Pyrus pyrifolia |
| Seed Source |
Michigan, Ecos |
| Hardiness |
-20F or more |
| Height (ft) |
20-40 |
| Width (ft) |
20-40 |
| Pollination Requirements |
Self fertile and will cross with itself |
| Soil |
Rock and sand or loam |
| Climate |
Zone 4 - zone 9 |
| Ease of Cultivation |
Anyone can grow it. It has a lot of fruit spurs which makes pruning a delicate operation. |
