Tree · Rosaceae
Pear
Pyrus communis
Plant two trees for cross-pollination, give them sun and patience, and a pear tree feeds you for decades.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 4–8
40–50 ft · 12.2–15.2 m
Overview
A pear tree is a long-term resident, not a one-season crop. Pyrus communis is a deciduous tree in the rose family, the same clan as apples, cherries, and plums, and a healthy one can stand 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 m) tall and live for generations. It carries clouds of white spring bloom, then the familiar bell-shaped fruit.
Most pears refuse to crop well alone. They lean on cross-pollination, so you plant a second compatible cultivar that blooms at the same time and let the bees do the rest. Named varieties don't come true from seed either, which is why the tree you buy is grafted onto a chosen rootstock, full-size pear or dwarfing quince.
The one habit that surprises new growers is the harvest. European pears ripen off the tree, not on it, picked mature but still firm and brought to a buttery finish indoors. Get that timing right, plant a pollination partner, and stay ahead of fire blight, and the tree asks for little else.
Care
The short version: full sun, deep well-drained soil, and a second pear nearby for pollination. Water young trees steadily, prune in late winter to a central leader, and go easy on nitrogen to keep fire blight at bay.
Light
Pears crop best in full sun, with at least six hours of direct light a day driving good flower and fruit set. They tolerate a little afternoon shade, but a tree stuck in shade gives you weak growth and a thin harvest.
Water
Give a tree about 1 inch of water a week, and keep young trees steadily moist while their roots take hold. Established pears handle dry spells far better. Water at the ground rather than over the canopy, since wet leaves invite disease.
Soil
Pears want deep, fertile, well-drained loam, though they'll cope with clay or sand as long as water moves through. Aim for a pH of 6.0 to 7.5, on the slightly acidic to neutral side.
Temperature
These are cold-hardy trees, comfortable from about -20°F to 95°F (-29°C to 35°C) and suited to USDA zones 4 through 8. The winter chill is part of the deal, since the buds need a cold rest before they'll break in spring.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air around 40% to 70% humidity suits a pear fine. What matters more is airflow through the canopy, because still, damp conditions are what let fire blight and scab dig in.
Feeding
Feed in early spring before bud break with a balanced N-P-K fertilizer, roughly once a season. Hold back on the nitrogen, since a flush of soft, sappy growth is exactly what fire blight loves to attack.
Pruning
Prune in late winter while the tree is dormant, training a young tree to a single central leader and cutting out crossing, dead, or diseased wood. If fire blight strikes, cut 8 to 12 inches below the visible canker and disinfect your tools between every cut.
Repotting
Pears aren't usually grown in containers, but a dwarf tree in a large pot can be top-dressed each year and repotted every 2 to 3 years. Refresh the soil at the same time to keep the roots fed.
Size & spacing
A standard pear reaches 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 m) tall and spreads 25 to 35 feet (7.5 to 10.5 m) wide, so give it open ground well clear of buildings and power lines. Two trees set for cross-pollination still need room for air to move between them.
When to plant
A pear tree goes in while it's dormant and bare. Plant in early spring, or in fall where winters stay mild, and the tree breaks into white bloom in early to mid spring. The fruit follows from late summer into fall, picked firm and ripened off the tree.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Early spring while dormant, or fall in mild-winter regions
- Harvest: Blooms early to mid spring; European pears are harvested mature but still firm in late summer to fall and ripened off the tree
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Pears run into a short list of recurring troubles, and fire blight tops it by a wide margin. Watch the new growth in spring and the fruit through summer, since that's where the first signs turn up. Match what you see below, then act before it spreads through the tree.
Shoot tips wilt, blacken, and bend into a shepherd's crook
This is fire blight, a bacterial infection that rides in on the blossoms during warm, wet spring weather and races down the shoots. Look for the telltale crook at the tips, scorched leaves that cling to the wood, and beads of ooze on the cankers. Cut infected wood 8 to 12 inches below the visible damage in dry weather and wipe your tools clean between every cut.
Fix:
- Prune out infected wood 8 to 12 inches below visible symptoms during dry weather
- Disinfect pruning tools between every cut and remove and destroy prunings
Sticky leaves, black sooty mold, and curling foliage
Pear psylla are tiny insects that feed on the new growth and leave behind sticky honeydew, which then grows a coat of black sooty mold. Check the fresh shoots for the small nymphs sitting in those droplets. A dormant horticultural oil before bud break knocks down the overwintering pests, and reaching for an insecticide only makes sense once monitoring shows the numbers are high.
Fix:
- Apply dormant horticultural oil before bud break
- Use recommended insecticides only if monitoring thresholds are exceeded
Wormy fruit with frass-packed tunnels that drops early
Codling moth larvae bore straight into the developing fruit and pack the tunnels with frass near the core. Cut open a damaged pear and you'll find the larva's path. Clean up infested and dropped fruit as you spot it, and hang pheromone traps so you can time any controls to the moths' flight.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infested and dropped fruit
- Use pheromone traps to time controls
Velvety dark spots on leaves and scabby, cracked fruit
Pear scab is a fungus that takes hold in wet spring weather, leaving velvety olive-to-black lesions on the leaves and corky, cracked patches on the fruit. Rake up and destroy the fallen leaves where the fungus overwinters, prune to open the canopy for airflow, and lean on resistant cultivars. A fungicide during the infection period helps in a bad year.
Fix:
- Rake and destroy fallen leaves
- Apply fungicides during the infection period if needed
Toxicity
The ripe flesh of a pear is a wholesome, safe fruit for people and harmless to most pets in small amounts. The catch sits in the seeds, bark, and wilting leaves, which carry cyanogenic compounds common to the rose family. Pick up fallen fruit and prunings, and keep seed-laden cores and wilted foliage away from horses, livestock, and grazing pets.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Caution
A lick of ripe flesh won't hurt a cat, but the seeds and wilting leaves are the part to watch. Chewing a few seeds or some wilted foliage can upset the stomach, and a real cyanide reaction, though rare, brings on drooling and labored breathing.
Dogs Caution
Dogs handle a bit of ripe pear fine, so the worry is the core. A dog that crunches through the seeds or grazes on wilted leaves may get a sour stomach, and a large dose can leave it weak and panting from the cyanogenic compounds inside.
Horses Caution
Horses are the ones to keep a close eye on, since they'll hoover up windfall pears by the mouthful. Eating piles of fallen fruit, seeds, and wilted leaves can trigger colic and, in the worst cases, cyanide poisoning marked by trembling and gasping.
Rabbits Caution
A small bite of ripe pear is a fine treat for a rabbit, yet the seeds and wilted greens are best kept out of the hutch. Their compact size means even a modest amount of the cyanogenic parts can throw off digestion.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, sheep, and goats can gorge on dropped fruit and the wilting leaves of pruned or storm-broken branches. That wilted foliage holds the most cyanide, and a big feed of it risks staggering, rapid breathing, and collapse.
Birds Caution
Chickens and other backyard birds will peck happily at ripe pear flesh without trouble. The seeds are the catch, since they carry the cyanogenic compound, so scoop out the cores before sharing any.
People Ripe fruit safe
Ripe pear is a wholesome fruit and perfectly safe to eat. Just don't make a habit of swallowing the seeds, which hold the same cyanogenic compound found across the rose family.
Pets nibbling a little ripe pear flesh are unlikely to be harmed, but discard cores and seeds. The main real-world concern is horses and livestock eating large quantities of fallen fruit and seeds or wilted foliage.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
European pears come in a handful of names you'll see again and again at the market and the nursery. These are the ones worth knowing, and remember most need a partner to crop.
Bartlett (Williams)
The most widely grown European pear, with a classic bell shape that turns from green to yellow as it ripens and serves equally well fresh or canned.
Bosc
Easy to spot by its long tapering neck and russeted cinnamon-brown skin, with firm, dense flesh that keeps its shape when you cook it.
Anjou (D'Anjou)
An egg-shaped pear whose green skin, or red on Red Anjou, holds its color even when ripe, so you judge readiness by the softening at the neck.
Comice
Often called the Christmas pear, this rounded greenish-yellow fruit is prized for its sweet, juicy, buttery flesh.
How to propagate
Pears are multiplied by grafting, not by rooting cuttings or sowing seed, because a named variety only stays true when it's grafted onto a rootstock.
GraftingModerate
Whip-and-tongue bench graft in late winter while dormant, or chip/T-bud in summer · Grafted trees typically begin bearing in about 3 to 6 years
Named cultivars don't come true from seed, so growers graft them. A whip-and-tongue bench graft in late winter while the wood is dormant is the usual route, with chip or T-budding done in summer. Pear seedling rootstock gives a full-size tree, while quince keeps it small, though some cultivars need a compatible interstem to take. Expect a grafted tree to start bearing in about 3 to 6 years.
SeedModerate
Sow after 60 to 90 days of cold, moist stratification in spring · Several years
Growing pears from seed is mostly a job for breeders and nurseries, not for copying a favorite tree. Sow the seed in spring after 60 to 90 days of cold, moist stratification to break dormancy. The seedlings take several years to amount to anything and won't come true to the parent, which is why they mainly serve as rootstock or breeding stock.
Myths
Pears should be left to ripen on the tree like apples.
European pears like Bartlett, Bosc, Anjou, and Comice are the opposite of apples here. Pick them mature but still firm and let them ripen off the tree, because fruit left hanging ripens from the inside out and turns mealy and gritty. Asian pears are the exception and do ripen on the branch.
A single pear tree will set a full crop on its own.
A lone tree usually disappoints. Most pears need a second compatible cultivar blooming at the same time to cross-pollinate and set a good crop, so plan to plant a pair.