Highland Pear
Pollination & Compatibility Guide
Highland pear pollination guide: Bartlett × Comice parentage, late dessert storage, Bloom Group 3 timing, and diploid pollinizers.
Highland is Self-Sterile (Needs 1 Diploid Partner)
Both of its parents are in wide commercial use and neither is a reliable pollinizer for it — Bartlett and Comice are both excluded. Bosc, Conference or Beurré Hardy of overlapping bloom instead. Highland needs at least one compatible pollinizer from bloom group 2–4 to set a reliable crop.
- Chromosome Ploidy
- Diploid (2n)
- Required Companions
- 1 Diploid Partner
- Bloom Group
- Group 3 (Mid-Spring)
- Harvest Timing
- Late (+21d from Conference)
Flowering Period & Overlap Window
Pear flowering periods are compressed into numbered bloom groups (1 through 4). Cross-pollination requires overlapping blossom timing between genetically compatible cultivars, with Asian pears flowering 7–14 days ahead of mid-season European varieties.
Any compatible diploid pear flowering within Group 2 to 4 provides matching blossom overlap.
Compatible Pollination Partners (19)
| Cultivar | Bloom Group | Overlap Type | Harvest | Primary Uses | Interactive Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±7d delta | Fresh Eating, Baking | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±7d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Mid ±7d delta | Fresh Eating, Storage | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Mid ±21d delta | Fresh Eating, Cooking | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±21d delta | Fresh Eating, Cooking | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±28d delta | Fresh Eating, Canning | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Mid ±28d delta | Fresh Eating, Canning | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Early ±35d delta | Fresh Eating, Canning | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Early ±46d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Mid ±49d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±7d delta | Fresh Eating, Cooking | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±7d delta | Canning, Cooking | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±7d delta | Fresh Eating, Storage | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±28d delta | Fresh Eating, Storage | Test Cross | |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Mid ±28d delta | Fresh Eating, Pickling | Test Cross |
Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (7)
These pear varieties overlap in flowering time with Highland but cannot fertilise it due to non-viable pollen (male-sterile diploids), direct parentage exclusions, or shared incompatibility alleles.
A direct parent (Bartlett × Doyenné du Comice) — roughly half the pollen is non-functional, so it is not a reliable partner.
A direct parent (Bartlett × Doyenné du Comice) — roughly half the pollen is non-functional, so it is not a reliable partner.
Gourmet produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Luscious produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Magness produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
A sport of a direct parent (Bartlett × Doyenné du Comice) — genetically identical to that parent, so roughly half its pollen is non-functional and it is not a reliable partner.
Warren produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Pomological Assessment: Elite Dessert Heritage, Late Keeping & Blossom Overlap
Developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva from a deliberate cross between Bartlett and Doyenné du Comice, Highland was selected to combine Bartlett's reliable tree habit with the incomparable dessert texture of Comice. The fruit is large, pyriform, and turns warm yellow with subtle russet flecks.
Highland is a diploid cultivar flowering in Bloom Group 3. It aligns well with Conference, Bosc, Bartlett, and Harrow Sweet. Its pollen is viable and plentiful, providing reciprocal pollination for its companion rows in commercial plantings.
The tree is moderately vigorous with spreading branches that form an easily managed framework. It produces fruit on spur systems that remain productive for multiple seasons, requiring only regular renewal thinning to keep canopies productive. Highland pears develop exceptional aromatic sweetness and rich buttery flesh after conditioning, providing growers with a high-value dessert cultivar that bridges the marketing gap between mid-season harvests and late winter storage releases.
Key Orchard Considerations for Highland
Grafts successfully onto OHxF 87 and OHxF 97 rootstocks. On Quince rootstocks, an interstem such as Beurré Hardy is recommended to ensure long-term graft union durability.
Shows moderate resistance to fire blight, performing better than Bartlett under standard orchard protection programmes.
Harvested late in the season, approximately four weeks after Bartlett. Requires roughly four weeks of cold storage conditioning to develop its luscious, buttery, aromatic flesh.
Take Highland from Planning to Planting
Use Kropigo's free browser tools to model your block density, tree counts, and pollinizer rows, then maintain permanent orchard records row by row.
Pollination Checker
Check Highland against supported cultivars with compatible flowering and pollination data.
Commercial Block Planner
Calculate high-density tree spacing, row geometry, and establishment costs.
Block Record Keeping
Track pruning, chemical thinning, and harvest tallies block by block from the orchard.