Starking® Hardy Giant™ Asian Pear Tree
Description
About the Starking® Hardy Giant™ Asian Pear Tree
Discover orchard excellence with the Starking® Hardy Giant™ Asian Pear Tree, a Stark Bro’s exclusive and Stark Pick! This cold-hardy marvel originates from Korea in 1969 and boasts a reputation as the best late-season Asian pear, bearing huge fruits.
With a round shape and russeted, fawn-brown skin, each pear weighs a generous 12 to 15 ounces. Its resistance to pear leaf spot ensures healthy growth, even in challenging conditions. Plus, it can be stored for up to nine months in refrigeration, extending your enjoyment well beyond harvest season.
How to Grow a Starking® Hardy Giant™ Asian Pear
Declared the favorite fruit of Stark Bro’s President, and chosen as one of our Stark Picks, you’ll find the Starking® Hardy Giant Asian Pear is one of the easiest fruit trees you can grow. Disease-resistance and hardiness to zone 4 make this particular tree a reliable choice for your home orchard.
Select a sunny location with well-drained soil for your Starking® Hardy Giant™ Asian Pear Tree. Ensure proper pollination by planting it alongside compatible varieties. Water regularly, especially during dry spells, and provide adequate mulching to retain moisture. Prune in late winter to shape the tree and improve air circulation.
Watch for ripening in October when the pears reach their peak sweetness. Gently twist or cut them from the tree, and refrigerate for long-term storage.
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 |
Chill Hours | 700 |
Fruit Color | Brown |
Fruit Size | Large |
Hardiness Zone Range | 4 - 8 |
Pollination | Pollinator Required |
Ripens/Harvest | October |
Shade/Sun | Full Sun |
Soil Composition | Loamy |
Soil Moisture | Well Drained |
Soil pH Level | 6.0 - 7.0 |
Taste | Sweet |
Texture | Crisp, Juicy |
Years to Bear | 4 - 6 |
Size & Spacing
Mature Size
Semi-Dwarf | 12 - 15' tall x 9 - 11' wide |
Dwarf | 8 - 10' tall x 6 - 7' wide |
Recommended Spacing
Semi-Dwarf | 12 - 15' |
Dwarf | 8 - 10' |
Zone Compatibility
Pollination
This variety requires another one for adequate pollination.
Tools & Supplies
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
Questions & Answers
The chill hours required for this Asian pear are 400-500.
I have several Hardy Giants and for the most part they do resist fire blight. This year was bad for us in eastern NC. Fire blight must be controlled early and important to prune and sterilize between each cut. Hardy Giants are the best, Hosui is great pollinator and very heavy producer, ripens earlier, and very sweet. Stark Brothers have the best product.
Yes, that will work.
This variety has an excellent resistance to fire blight.
Hi Peter - We appreciate you reaching out to us. We recommend that you use choose another pear variety, like Hosui, New Century or Bartlett. If you have any other questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Have a great day!
Hi Peter - We appreciate you reaching out to us. The zone range on this variety is zone 4-8. If you have any other questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Have a great day!
Have you considered grafting additional Asian or even European pears on your Giant/Olympic? It is a way to have multiple varieties on less trees. I started w/one Peggy asian pear, now have three actual trees, but a total of eight varieties on the three, including Bartlett, all others are different Asian pears. Eventually will remove a few varieties probably that I like the least. Grafting not that hard if you do some YouTube research, there are companies that sell scions for many varieties... They cost me about five dollars per.
It is one and the same. It is also the same Asian pear as 'Olympic'.
I have 7 Asian pears trees, and two of them are hardy giant Asian pears. this is one of favorite Asian pears, they are large and have a great taste.
I did not state any of my Asian pears, however there were times after the winter snow, heavy spring rain and heavy winds some of my fruit trees leaned/tilted due to the loose water logged ground/soil...
so then I took 1/2 inch steel conduit; pounded into the ground approximately 1-3 feet away from the trunk and then used a rubber truck strap and wrapped it around the trunk and then secured it onto the steel conduit to strengthen the tree.
then very gently I walked on the side of the conduit from the trunk and then to the conduit to slightly/softly compact the soil a little bit, which seem to help keep the tree straight upward.
tip:-always prune this tree every year as suggestive via stark brother recommendations because the giant Asian pear fruit is large, and very heavy, and will crack the fruit limbs if there is to much weight from to many fruit on the limb.
also make sure you allow 1 flower per cluster, with a distance of 6-8 inches apart from another flower as not to bear to much weight on the fruit tree limb. some people leave 2 flower per cluster, and once the flower establishes fruit, then they will remove the smaller growing fruit.
you will enjoy this giant Asian pear for many years to come, it is one of most favorite fruits.
I'm excited to add pears to our home orchard. I also purchased a Bartlett Pear Tree as a pollinator.
Have one and I figured that it would be awesome to have another.
The size of the pear
This is another excellent choice for people living in very cold environments.