grow guide for pear trees

grow guide for pear trees

How to Grow a Pear Trees &#; A Step by Step Guide

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Pear trees are generally easier to maintain than many other kinds of fruit trees. Pear plants tend to have fewer pest and disease problems, and they usually live longer and bear more fruit than other home-grown fruit trees.

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It might take five or more years for new pear trees to produce significant crops, but once they start producing, they can bear a lot of fresh pears for a long time, even more than 100 years! Growing pear trees is easy, fun, and rewarding with simple care and minimal maintenance. Use this guide for planting pear trees when you decide it's time to add a new addition in your landscape.

Types of Pear Trees

There are three main types of pears: (1) European pears (Pyrus communis), which include most of the standard pear-shaped varieties we know from the grocery store; (2) Asian pears (P. pyrifolia), which include the gritty sand pears and other, usually hard, apple-shaped types; and (3) hybrids between the two (P. X lecontei), which include popular varieties such as Kieffer and Leconte.

Choosing the Right Pear Variety

When selecting pear varieties for your location, you need to consider two important factors: chill hours and your USDA hardiness zone. Chill hours are the total number of hours in the winter that the temperature is between 32°F and 45°F. This requirement is different from the USDA hardiness zones, which are based on the average minimum temperatures for each area. Ensure that the pear varieties you choose (1) match the chilling requirement for your particular location, and (2) are suitable for your specific USDA zone.

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Chill Hour and USDA Growing Zone Chart

This pear tree chill and zone chart will help you determine the best pear variety for your growing zone. You can also identify which tree will work best in your landscaping project using the pear tree maturity chart.

There are a few exceptions, but most pear varieties require cross-pollination, so you will need at least two different cultivars to get fruit. European pears can cross-pollinate with Asian pears, and hybrid pears work with them both. Bartlett pear and Kieffer pear are good pollinators for almost all other pears. Critical to successful pollination is that the different varieties must bloom at the same time. An early blooming variety will not pollinate a late blooming variety.

Pear Tree Pollination Chart

Perfect Plants offers seven varieties of pears, including European, Asian, hybrid pears, and pears adapted to most regions of the United States.

Site Selection for Planting

To ensure cross-pollination while providing ample room for growth, standard-size trees should be planted within 20-100 feet of each other. Dwarf tree varieties can be 12-75 feet apart, and semi-dwarf pear trees should be somewhere in between.

Pears thrive in loamy, humus-rich soil that retains moisture but is not too sandy. They perform better in heavier soils or clay soils compared to apple or peach trees, although excessively fertile soils may lead to disease problems. Well-drained soil is best.

A soil pH between 6.0 and 6.5 is preferred, although 5.5 to 7.5 is acceptable. Have the soil tested for pH level before planting and adjust with lime or sulfur as recommended by the test results. Make pH adjustments 6-12 months before planting.

Like other fruit trees, pear trees need full sun, so plant them in the sunniest location possible. Avoid planting where they will be shaded or face root competition from other trees. Consider the ultimate height of the tree and pay attention to overhead wires. Avoid low spots where drainage may be slow. If possible, plant pear trees on hilltops or slopes to provide "air drainage" which can protect tender blossoms from late spring freezes and frosts. Choose your planting spot wisely to maintain a healthy tree!

Planting Pear Trees

Wondering when to plant pear trees? Containerized trees can be planted any time of the year. (Bare-root trees should be planted when dormant, during the winter.)

Thoroughly wet the soil line in the pot before starting. Place the pot on its side and slide the root ball out. If the plant is stuck, you can slip a long-bladed knife around the inside edge to loosen it. Gently loosen some of the roots along the sides and bottom, and spread them outward to ensure they are not encircling the root mass. Prune any roots growing in a circle around the inside of the pot if necessary.

Dig a hole a little deeper and 2-3 times wider than the tree was in the nursery pot. Do not add fertilizer or soil amendments to the planting hole. Build up a rounded mound of soil in the center of the hole. Place the root crown on top of the mound and spread the side roots out over it.

If the root system is too long, shorten it rather than allowing it to encircle the hole. Ensure the top of the crown is at or slightly above ground level, and the graft union between the scion and the rootstock is 2-6 inches above the ground surface.

Work the soil in and around the roots. When the hole is half filled, give it a good soaking of water. When the water has drained, readjust the depth of the stem if necessary and finish filling the hole. Gently tamp the soil down.

Build up a 3-6 inch high dike of soil around the outside of the root zone. This will help retain water over the roots as it sinks into the soil. Water the tree thoroughly. Spread a layer of organic mulch 3-5 inches deep over the root zone and extend it a foot or two beyond to help retain soil moisture. You can use organic matter such as hay, straw, leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, or compost.

Avoid using mushroom compost as it contains lime and will raise the pH. If the central leader is long and whip-like, head it back to about three feet tall. Do not fertilize after planting. If you're still wondering how to care for a pear tree after planting, read on!

First Year Pear Tree Care

Do not fertilize your new pear tree in its first year. Ensure it gets about an inch of water each week from rain or irrigation. If rainfall is insufficient, water enough to soak several inches into the soil once a week. For newly planted trees, two gallons per week should be adequate except in drier, sandier soils where 6-8 gallons a week might be necessary.

Pull competing weeds as they appear, maintaining a weed-free zone of about three feet around each tree. You may need to protect young trees from deer and rabbit damage and support weak and leggy trees with wires and stakes for a year or two.

Training and Pruning Pear Trees

Begin training your pear trees during their first dormant season. Choose 5-7 side branches with wide crotches to serve as scaffolding, and remove all other side branches. The scaffold branches should radiate evenly around the trunk and be at least six inches apart vertically. The lowest scaffold should be around 18 inches above ground. The angle between a scaffold branch and the central leader (trunk) should be between 45° and 60°.

Train scaffold branches to grow outward with weights or spreaders inserted between the branch and the trunk. If there aren’t enough appropriate scaffold branches, finish the job the following winter.

During the second dormant season, cut off the top of the young pear tree 24-30 inches above the uppermost scaffold branch, promoting new shoot growth. In the third dormant season, select the strongest upright stem to be the central leader (trunk) and remove all side branches from the scaffold branches except for the strongest two or three.

Do not prune short shoots on the tree trunk; they provide food for the tree. Continue using spreaders to widen the crotches of the scaffold branches.

Mature pear trees should be pruned as needed to maintain size and shape, remove dead wood, crossed branches, suckers, and overly vigorous upright shoots (water sprouts). Thin the inside of the canopy to improve air circulation and sunlight penetration. Perform annual maintenance pruning in winter when the tree is dormant, ensuring pears are produced on short branches called spurs, which grow on wood at least two years old. Young trees may take 3-5 years to develop fruiting spurs, but the spurs can be productive for many years.

How to Care for Pear Trees in Subsequent Years

Mature pear trees should generally not be fertilized as excessive nitrogen stimulates vegetative growth, leading to fireblight. An exception can be made for young trees (2-4 years old) in the poorest soils, which may receive a complete fertilizer once a year in spring.

Fruit thinning is often necessary for mature trees. Too many pears on a tree can cause broken limbs, smaller fruit size, and alternate-year bearing. Ideally, aim for one or two pears per cluster, spaced every 4-5 inches along the branches. Thin when pears are about an inch in diameter for best results.

Pears are ready for harvest when their skin is soft to the touch. You can allow the pears to ripen on the tree for sweeter fruit or pick them earlier and store them. Harvest pears in late summer or early fall for the best results.

Pear Tree Diseases and Pests

Keep your tree in good health by minimizing nitrogen fertilizers that encourage vegetative growth. Avoid heading back pruning cuts that encourage vigorous upright shoot growth. Instead, promote side branching and lateral spur growth by training the scaffold branches outward with weights or spreaders.

If young twigs and shoots develop brown or blackened leaves that look scorched, fireblight may have struck. Cut back diseased branches to 3-4 inches below the infection and disinfect pruning shears with bleach between cuts. Some resistant varieties include Fengshui Pear Buy and Pineapple Pear.

Pear psylla and various other insect pests also attack pear trees. Many can be controlled by spraying with horticultural or dormant oil in late winter or insecticidal soap directly on the pests when they appear. All three products are organic pesticides that work by smothering the pests and their eggs.

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We hope you enjoyed this step-by-step guide on how to grow pear trees. Enjoy your new pear trees and fresh fruit! With firm flesh when eaten raw, a juicy pear is a delicious snack or can even be used in baked goods or treats.