Asian pears (or Apple pears if you prefer) do not soften. They stay crisp until they rot. So you will want to wait until size and color mature (either to a yellow or golden color depending on variety). Then if the fruit doesn't come off with a slight twist and tug, it is not ready. it should come off easy.

These are some of my favorite fruit, you can keep them for months in the fridge, and personally i feel what you get in the grocery store is garbage compared to what you can get fresh off the tree (assuming you let it ripen all the way).

I have a 4-in-1 (4 varieties are grafted onto one rootstock) that produced about 7-10 of each variety last year. for size, i make sure they are no smaller than a baseball before even considering picking, then i check color to make sure it looks like the color has fully changed all around the fruit. Finally it it looks good, i then give it a little tug, if it doesn't come off easy, then i wait a few days and try again. I am in Zone 5B, and last year my first fruits were ripe and picked in mid August (we are about a month behind schedule this year so i am not expecting them to ripen until mid September). Since you are two zones warmer, i would expect them to be ready for you in August depending on varieties.

Gee, thank you so much ... that is info. we really needed!

We just the past few years have seen them in the grocery & decided to try on (yes, they were called Asian pears ... not sure why some here have called them apple pears... the shape maybe?!

My husband calls them 'the best ever...!' We had a difficult time getting one to grow/survive here as they got a black blight the first or second year after planting (got them from 'Stark's') but got several replacements & FINALLY! got one to survive & has fruit this year!! Got a dwarf one this year from another company & hope it survives now along with our present tree. Nice you have a 4-in-one grafted one! We got a six- in- one grafted 'Fruitcocktail' tree from Starks a several years ago & it was our joke... no flowers, fruit ... 'nada'! :( WELL, now no joke! as this year it had four grafts that flowered & set fruit!

Our problem is that it is difficult for us to have prune off a lot of the fruit set as WAY too many are on each cluster! :)

Thanks again for your help!

-vieja

I've missed the window to pick the past 2 years -- the fruit colors up before it is ready, and I've waited too long so that the fruit wasn't good. Hopefully this year I will get it right.