Description

About the Stark® Honeysweet Pear Tree

The Stark® Honeysweet Pear delivers exceptional sweetness and smooth, buttery texture, reminiscent of the classic Comice pear but with the added benefit of strong fire blight resistance. Its medium-sized, golden-green fruit is perfect for fresh eating, baking, and preserving, making it a versatile favorite for home orchards.

A Stark Bro’s introduction, this variety combines superior flavor with reliable performance. It’s a self-pollinating pear and will produce fruit on its own but yields even larger, more consistent crops when paired with a compatible pollinator. Harvest season begins in September, offering a dependable early fall bounty.

How to Grow the Stark® Honeysweet Pear

This hardy tree thrives in full sun and well-drained soil and performs best in USDA Zones 5–8. Minimal maintenance is required beyond occasional pruning to encourage airflow and strong branching. With its excellent disease resistance and reliable productivity, it’s an easy choice for both new and seasoned growers.

With its rich, sweet flavor and low-maintenance nature, the Stark® Honeysweet Pear tree is ideal for anyone looking to enjoy homegrown pears straight from the orchard to the kitchen.

Survival Guaranteed!

Since 1816, Stark Bro’s has promised to provide customers with the very best fruit trees and plants. It’s just that simple. If your trees or plants do not survive, please let us know within one year of delivery. We will send you a free one-time replacement, with a nominal shipping fee of $9.99. If the item in question is not available, we can issue a one-time credit to your account equaling the original product purchase price or issue you a refund. Read more about our warranty policy.

Characteristics

Bloom Color White
Bloom Time Early - Mid
Chill Hours 1200 - 1500
Fruit Color Yellow
Fruit Size Large
Hardiness Zone Range 5 - 8
Pollination Self-Pollinating
Ripens/Harvest Early September
Shade/Sun Full Sun
Soil Composition Loamy
Soil Moisture Well Drained
Soil pH Level 6.0 - 7.0
Taste Sweet
Texture Firm, Smooth
Years to Bear 4 - 6

Size & Spacing

Mature Size

The mature size of this variety depends on the version you choose to plant:
Standard 18 - 20' tall x 12 - 13' wide
Semi-Dwarf 12 - 15' tall x 9 - 11' wide
Dwarf 8 - 10' tall x 6 - 7' wide

Recommended Spacing

The space needed for this variety to grow depends on the size you plant:
Standard 18 - 20'
Semi-Dwarf 12 - 15'
Dwarf 8 - 10'

Zone Compatibility

This Variety's Zone Range 5 - 8
My Hardiness Zone ?
The USDA hardiness zones offer a guide to varieties that will grow well in certain climates. Each zone corresponds to the minimum winter temperatures experienced in a given area. Make sure that your hardiness zone lies within the zone compatibility range of this variety before ordering.

Pollination

This variety is self pollinating.

In many cases, you may still want to plant pollinating partners to increase the size of your crops, but with self-pollinating varieties doing so is optional. Plant one of these varieties within 100' for best results.

Tools & Supplies

Having the proper tools and supplies when growing your own can make the difference between a good harvest and a great harvest! Here's a list that our experts recommend for this variety.

Planting & Care

Learn all about how to grow pear trees in The Growing Guide. An entire section of our website dedicated to your growing success.

Shipping Information

Arrives when it's time to plant

Your success is our priority. We work hard to make sure that your order arrives at the ideal time for planting in your location based on your local climate conditions.

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Questions & Answers

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36 Questions
Why did you choose this?

I wanted to see how it grows in my gardan

I wanted a self pollinators. And I thought I would try one of Stark's exclusives.

Used to live on a farm and had a small orchard. Now in retirement we live in suburban community with a yard. Self pollinating and dwarf habit is the answer here. New variety for me. Love Bosc but…

Self pollination

Can it grow in partial shade?

Mine is doing well in less than full sun.

How long after planting does honeysweet pear put on leaves?

if you'll plant honeysweet with a bag of great soil mixed in like say miracle grow garden soil and water the heck out of it once a week it will leaf out within a couple weeks as soon as it gets warmer like june keep it damp but not drown it it'll shoot out like crazy, mine has doubled in size in one season doubled in height, but you've got to take good care of it. good luck and it'll be great eating soon.

Will the stark honey sweet grow in sandy soil?

Jerry,
I have heavy clay soil here in SW Ohio but I think if you add a lot of organic matter when you prepare to plant you'll be fine.

What's a good dwarf cross-pollinator for the Honeysweet pear?

Honeysweet is self-pollinating, so it will develop fruit without having another variety blooming nearby, but Bartlett and/or Red Sensation are some additional examples of compatible pear varieties that can be used for cross-pollination.

I bought this variety of pear 8 years ago. It has reached its maturity height, its beautiful and healthy, but still has not produced any fruit. This year is the first year it produced flowers. They covered it from top to bottom, but again I have no fruit. Is there anything I can do to make it happen?

1) While they are usually self-fertile, your chances always improve with a second pear or Asian pear. I'd recommend if space is an issue getting a dwarf variety, even one that is potted, to help out. 2) In the first flowering, it's best to pluck most of the flowers from the tree so it can focus on growing rather than fruit production. I know it's been a long wait, but this will help more. PS - noting what zone you are in and type of soil is helpful. Fruit trees do not take "7 or so years" to bear fruit, that's what it takes for them to start reaching their full potential. We had pears our second year.

When is the tree ripe ?

Honeysweet Pear ripens approximately September. The fruit will be very firm when harvested and ripens as it is held on the counter at room temperatures.

Hello, can this dwarf pear tree grow in a large wooden box?

Absolutely... mines in a 55 gallon planter and is thriving and has bloomed.. the second year.... I've gotten 5 pears off of it and you usually have to wait 3-5 years ..

I’m zone 8a and want to know what color is the honey sweet when it’s almost ripe? A few pears are a deep reddish color but still very small? This is the first year I am going to get pears.

We have not had pears produce yet.

Can it permanently live and produce fruit in a large pot or container?

You can grow almost anything in a container! This excellent article will answer your questions and provide good advice. Please see "Growing Fruit Trees in Containers" //www.starkbros.com/growing-guide/article/fruit-trees-in-containers-pt1

little concerned about planting in november in Wisconsin?

We appreciate you reaching out to us. Because weather and soil conditions vary so much from year to year and even within your zone, it's best to think of your planting time as a range of favorable conditions instead of an exact time.

You can plant new plants and trees:
1) when the ground is not frozen.
2) when daytime temperatures are above freezing (32ºF) and below 90ºF.
3) when extreme weather (blizzard, hail, torrential rain, etc.) is not in the forecast. Be sure to keep plants watered if you're transplanting in warm and/or dry weather.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to reach back out to us. Have a great day!

Customer Reviews

96 Ratings
3.7out of 5 stars
96 Ratings

Rated 5 stars by 42% of reviewers

Rated 4 stars by 25% of reviewers

Rated 3 stars by 10% of reviewers

Rated 2 stars by 3% of reviewers

Rated 1 star by 20% of reviewers

1-10 of 96 Reviews
Rated 5 out of 5
Jul 23, 2025
Honeysweet pear is well suited to Southwest Idaho
I ordered two Honeysweet pear trees from Stark Brothers. The one I planted in the orchard has leafed out and put on some growth. The one I potted isn't doing as well but is definitely alive. My mature Honeysweet pear tree is resistant to fire blight but by no means immune, and I bought these two trees from Stark anticipating the need for replacement. Honeysweet's sister, Dana's Hovey, has proven to be 99.9% immune to fire blight here. Stark Brothers would do well to offer Dana's Hovey in their catalog for a late-ripening, disease resistant pear. I have recommended Honeysweet to my friends if they can plant only one pear tree.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jul 18, 2025
Honey sweet pear
Growing great very happy with it looks like it grew 6 inches very healthy looking.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jul 1, 2025
Happy customer!
This is also a great little tree, hardy, good sized and came well packaged. Other than a deer eating some of the leaves on it, it is doing great at my house! Thank you for the quality of product you always provide!
Rated 5 out of 5
Mar 30, 2024
Great condition. Exploded with new growth as soon as I planted
Rated 5 out of 5
Jan 30, 2024
My Sweet Honey Pear
I'm thrilled that my bare root tree has double in trunk size in such a short time... looking forward to it blooming and getting leaves
Rated 5 out of 5
Jan 25, 2024
Prolific amounts of fruit yearly
These are some of the best tasting pears I've eaten. The tree bears very heavy every year. The squirrels love them as well; which isn't a problem because the tree is very prolific.
Rated 5 out of 5
Nov 16, 2022
Pear tree arrived here with plenty of green leaves and is still thriving can't wait to have fresh pears.
Rated 5 out of 5
Oct 30, 2022
It's doing better since we're not in triple digits here in east Texas zone b, will locate tree in a few weeks where it will only get about 6 hrs of sun instead of 12+.
Rated 5 out of 5
Oct 21, 2022
Cute little tree
Very very small for a 3-4’ tree but arrived healthy and has thrived since being planted a few months ago.
Rated 5 out of 5
Sep 14, 2022
Happy pear
My tree is only about 1.5 years old but doing quite well. No fruit or flowers this year (didn't expect it either), but filling out nice. I did have to buy some plastic wraps to protect the bark around the base of the tree as it looks like the rabbits took a couple of bites out of it this past winter.

All in all I've been very happy with my fruit tree purchases with StarkBro's.