Krazulya Pear Tree
- Zone 3
Characteristics of the tree
Krazulya is Russian for “Beauty,” named after its attractive appearance. This pear tree is fully hardy in zone 3a, and would be worth trying in zone 2b. This is exceptionally hardy for a pear tree. Krazulya is not only beautiful and hardy, however: out of all the early-ripening pear varieties, it is consistently noted as being the most flavourful and tasty.
Krazulya is a very attractive looking pear, hence its name “Beauty”. It is a relatively small pear compared to those we find at the grocery, though considerably larger than other Ussuriensis-type pears such as Ure and Golden Spice. It is about half the size of a Barlett, ranging between 90 and 120g in weight.
When it is ready to remove from the tree, it is green in colour with a small red blush. When it is fully ripe and ready to consume, the fruit is yellow with a bright red cheek that covers a larger surface.
Krazuyla is the best-tasting early ripening pear: sweet and flavourful, with a hint of spice. The flesh is juicy with a buttery texture and the shape is more round than the common pear. Its skin is tender, smooth and glossy.
It is ready for harvest mid to late August and should be eaten quickly as it does not store particularly well (1-2 weeks). The fruit is a delight to eat fresh, but is also wonderful when sliced and dehydrated: tastier than the average dried pear.
This medium sized pear tree is fully hardy to Edmonton in zone 3a, but it is well worth the try in zone 2b. Krazulya pear appears to be at least as hardy as or even hardier than Ure.
It provides consistently large yields; at the age of 10 yielding up to 40kg of fruit! No disease affecting this pear tree is known to date. It is also precocious and starts to give fruit at around 5 years old.
Note that Krazulya is self-sterile; therefore you will need another pear tree nearby to ensure pollination. Krazulya will be pollinated by any early flowering pear tree.
Creating pear tree varieties is a lot more difficult than apple tree varieties and finding a flavourful and hardy variety is a huge and lengthy task that requires a lot of patience. It took many decades for Russian scientists and researchers to develop the Krazulya variety by way of hybridization and selection techniques.
It originated in 1987 in the South-Ural research institute of Fruit & Vegetable Growing and Potato Growing from a cross between Pozdnyaya (that means “Late” in Russian) and Malenkaya Radost (which means “Little Joy” in Russian). The author of this cross is E.A. Falkenberg.
Pear trees have a very vigorous and upright growth habit; becoming taller than apple trees (10 m/35 ft in height at maturity) but spreading less wide (6 m/20 ft) Their height can be controlled somewhat with rigorous pruning, but only to a certain degree. All going well, these trees will live for about 200 years, providing fruit for several future generations.
You should note that this illustration is meant only to give a general indication of what you can expect, and the growth of your tree might look somewhat different. The development of a tree depends on the soil type, irrigation, fertilisation and climatic conditions.
All our pear trees are sold bare-root, without pots. They have been cultivated directly in the soil, and are taken out of the ground to be shipped to you during their period of dormancy. Bare-root trees do not take up much space, and can be therefore shipped by mail all over Canada!
Pear trees have a naturally small root system – do not be surprised if your pear tree seems to have fewer roots compared to the other trees you receive! This photo shows a 3-foot-tall pear tree, similar to one you would receive. Depending on the height that you select when you order a pear tree, it could be smaller (1-2 feet) or taller (3-5 feet).
Our pear trees are propagated by grafting, on rootstock that we produce at the nursery. For pear cultivars that are hardy in zone 3, we use Pyrus ussuriensis rootstock for its vigour and hardiness (zone 2, growing in Alaska). For cultivars that are hardy in zone 4, our rootstock consists of either Pyrus ussuriensis, or seedling pear trees born from the trees in our orchard in zone 4.
About half of the pear trees we offer are self-fertile and can produce fruit on their own, though they will always give better yields with a pollinator. The rest are self-sterile, and cannot produce fruit without pollination from a different cultivar. Therefore, if you only have space for one tree, you might want to use the filter to see only self-fertile cultivars.
Provided it is grown in good conditions and properly cared-for, your pear tree will begin to bear fruit by around 5 years on average, although this can vary depending on your location and the fertility of your soil. Be sure to also have a look at our articles on how to plant and care for your growing tree!
