Autumn 2024 planting seasonPre-order now for EU delivery December 2024 - March 2025

Stark Crimson pear trees

(Kalle, Red Clapp's Favorite)

Pyrus communis
Stark Crimson is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking season: Early
  • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
  • Flowering group: 4

Stark Crimson is also known as Red Clapp's Favorite, or Kalle and is an attractive red-flushed early-season pear.

It is best to pick the pears towards the end of summer, as soon as the colour develops, and bring them indoors to ripen. As a guide, this variety is likely to ripen 1-2 weeks ahead of Bartlett.

Bio / Organic  fruit trees

Stark Crimson organic pear trees for sale


  • 1 yeartree on PyroDwarf rootstock24.25€
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
    Sold-out

Contact us if you would like to go on the waiting list for next season.

EU delivery countries
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
Delivery chargesClick here to view estimated delivery charges.

Growing and Training

Stark Crimson is suited to most climates, however it is susceptible to fireblight.


History

Stark Crimson is a good example of a "sport", a natural genetic mutation. The original Clapp's Favorite was raised by Thaddeus Clapp of Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1850s, possibly a cross between Bartlett and Flemish Beauty. It is essentially a green pear but with a tendency to show some red flush. In the 1930s Adrian Kalle, a grower in Van Buren County, Michigan, noticed that one of the branches of a Clapp's Favorite tree growing in his orchard had pears that were a solid dark red color - quite different from the normal red-flushed green pears on the other branches. This new form was patented in 1952 and taken on by Stark Brothers nursery under the name Starkrimson, but today it is more widely known as Kalle or Red Clapp's Favorite.


Stark Crimson characteristics

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
  • Flowering group4
  • Disease resistancePoor
  • Picking seasonEarly
  • Season of use1-3 days
  • Food usesEating freshCulinary
  • Cold hardiness (USDA)Zone 3 (-40C)
  • Summer average maximum temperaturesWarm (25-30C / 76-85F)
  • Country of originUnited States
  • Fruit colourYellow / Red

Similar varieties

  • See also Beurre d'Anjou
    Beurre d'Anjou
    Beurre d'Anjou is a highly-regarded traditional French dessert pear with melting sweet flesh.
  • See also Clapp's Favorite
    Clapp's Favorite
    An attractive red-flushed early-season pear from the USA.
  • See also Clapp's Favorite
    Clapp's Favorite
    An attractive red-flushed early-season pear from the USA.
  • See also Conference
    Conference
    Conference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to temperate climates in north-west Europe.
  • See also Legipont
    Legipont
    Legipont or Fondante de Charneu is a traditional Belgian dessert pear, ripening in mid-September.