The smooth, mellow-sweet winter pear that ripens off the tree and keeps for months in cool storage. D'Anjou (Pyrus communis 'Anjou') is a European dessert pear prized for its egg-shaped, green fruit, fine-grained flesh, and gentle, balanced sweetness with a hint of citrus. Unlike summer pears, it is picked firm in early autumn and finishes ripening in the bowl or the refrigerator, which is exactly why it has become one of the most widely grown and best-keeping pears in home orchards. The dense, juicy flesh holds its shape beautifully, making it as good baked, poached, or sliced into a salad as it is eaten fresh out of hand. Why growers choose the D'Anjou Long storage life. Picked firm and held cool, D'Anjou keeps for weeks to months, so a single tree can supply fruit well past the harvest season. Mild, refined flavor. Smooth, sweet flesh with low grit and a subtle citrus note that appeals to almost everyone. Cold-hardy and adaptable. Reliable across USDA zones 5 through 9, it handles real winters and a wide range of garden soils. Manageable size. At a mature 8 to 15 ft. tall and 6 to 10 ft. wide, it fits backyard orchards and can be kept smaller with pruning. Versatile in the kitchen. Firm flesh holds up to poaching, baking, and canning, and is equally good eaten fresh. Whether you have room for a full backyard tree or want a productive specimen trained against a sunny fence, D'Anjou rewards a little patience with crisp spring bloom, dependable September fruit, and a pantry stocked with pears long after the leaves have fallen.