Pears-Growing Guide

This is an excerpt from the Book called “The Backyard Orchardist ” by Stella Otto . Continue reading to learn more about Pears-Growing Guide, thanks to the author.

Pears

Like the apple, the pear is a pome fruit with a fleshy body surrounding a core of seeds. Many of the principles of growing apples will also apply to pears. They grow well in climates similar to those favored by apples. Like apples, they grow best on a sandy loam soil. They are, however, more tolerant of heavier soils and will also show a marked response of large fruit size when provided with consistent moisture or irrigation.

Normally, a pear tree may take as many as 8 to 10 years before bearing a substantial crop, but the tree can live and produce reasonably for over 100 years. In general, pear trees require less care than apple trees and are therefore an excellent choice for the home orchard.

Growth Habit

Similar to the apple, the pear has a central leader growth habit. However, most pear trees tend to grow more upright than many apple varieties. Since upright shoots do not readily produce lateral growth, they need to be encouraged to produce side branches and fruit bearing spurs by training them to a more horizontal position. This is best done by spreading branches when they are young and flexible, early in the growing season.

In many home gardens, flexible new shoots can be trained to a trellis or espalier to form an attractive hedgerow or specimen tree. With careful hand-thinning of the fruit, a crop that is both beautiful to look at and wonderful to eat can be achieved fairly easily. Consequently, the pear was often the fruit of choice in courtyards and gardens of European nobility of the 18th and 19th centuries.

If you choose to grow your pear as a freestanding tree, it is normally recommended that it be trained to a modified central leader when it is young. Six or seven lateral scaffold branches should be encouraged to develop and form the main structure of the tree. When the tree has reached a manageable height (say around ten feet) the leader is headed off to a strong lateral branch.

The pear tree tends to be naturally quite vigorous and will often grow more than 24 inches one season. These vigorous shoots tend to be very upright in their growth and the tissue quite green and succulent. This tissue is particularly attractive to the fireblight bacteria and the sucking insects that spread them. To avoid problems with fireblight, it is best to minimize heading back cuts that encourage profuse lateral growth. It is more desirable to encourage side branching by spreading the scaffolds with wooden or plastic spreaders as is described. Light annual thinning out cuts can be used to eliminate unwanted shoots. Once the pear tree starts producing, the weight of the fruit will also help spread the branches.

Care should be taken not to encourage very lush growth in pear trees, especially during the early spring and during bloom time when ideal disease development conditions often exist. Feeding the pear tree only small doses of nitrogen, pruning young trees sparingly, and light annual dormant pruning of mature trees are some of the easiest ways to avoid fireblight. More details on fireblight prevention and management can be found.

Flowering and Pollination

Like apples, most pears tend to be self-unfruitful and require pollination by a variety other than themselves. Even the self-fruitful varieties produce a larger crop when cross pollinated. For some reason, pears have a flower that is not particularly attractive to bees (the main insect active in pollenizing). Therefore it is often recommended that two other pollen varieties be available in pear plantings. Since a number of pear varieties are so distinct from each other, it is actually quite nice to include three or more different ones in the home orchard and enjoy their harvest at different times during the season.

In choosing pear varieties as pollen sources, keep in mind that Bartlett and Seckel will not cross-pollinate each other. Bartlett is sometimes considered to be partially self fruitful and if you can really only fit one pear tree in your yard, you may want to make it a Bartlett unless fireblight is a serious problem in your area. Magness has sterile pollen and therefore will not function as a pollinator. Honeysweet and Moonglow are two varieties known for their strong pollen.

Hand Thinning

Fruit set on pears is similar to apples; and pears benefit accordingly from hand thinning of excess fruit. A space of six inches between fruit is optimum. Thinning can be done as soon as “June drop” is over.

Rootstocks

The number of pear rootstocks in use today is not as varied as the apple rootstocks, but the reasons for choosing the rootstock will still be similar. In the home orchard you will most likely want the size controlling characteristic of a dwarfing rootstock. Disease resistance will also be important. The major pear rootstocks available today are:

Pyrus calleryana. This rootstock will produce the largest pear trees at about 115% of standard seedling size. Its strongest attributes are that it is quite tolerant of heavy, wet soils and resistant to fireblight, woolly aphids, and nematodes. In locations with cold winters, it is not as winter hardy as the other stocks and is best suited for use in the southern United States, the West Coast, and regions where winters are mild.

Bartlett Seedling. Bartlett seedling rootstock is normally considered to be the standard 100% size that other pear stocks are measured against. The most commonly used pear rootstock, Bartlett seedling is vigorous growing and winter hardy. It has a well anchored root system, forms excellent graft unions with all of today’s commercially available varieties, and is well adapted to wet soils. Its main faults are high susceptibility to fireblight and moderate susceptibility to bacterial canker and crown gall.

OHxF333 (OHxF513). These rootstocks are numbered selections from crosses of the Old Home and Farmingdale pear varieties. At about 50% of standard size, they are fireblight resistant and quite winter hardy. OHxF333 also performs quite well as a rootstock for Asian pear varieties.

Quince. As a series, quince rootstocks are among the most dwarfing available for pear today. Quince A is about 50% of standard size and Quince C produces a tree as small as 30% of standard. They tend to be susceptible to freeze damage in northern areas but are suited for use on the West Coast and southern East Coast. Although resistant to nematodes, Quince rootstocks are not well adapted to heavy, wet soils. They are also moderately fireblight susceptible.

Vigorous scion varieties are best paired with Quince rootstocks, although, not all scion varieties can be compatibly grafted to quince. Often the in-compatibility does not appear until trees are several years old. To overcome graft union incompatibility with Bartlett, Bosc, Clapp’s Favorite, Forelle, El Dorado, Packham’s Triumph, Seckel, and Winter Nellis and interstem of Old Home is often used.

Pyrodwarf. Still under testing, Pyrodwarf is the newest dwarfing rootstock for pears. It might be worth trying for the adventurous ochardist with limited space.

Domestic Pear Varieties

When most people think of pears and what to do with them, they think primarily of eating them fresh or canned. However, pears are excellent for other uses too. Baked pears, marinated in wine, are an elegant and simple treat. The adventurous home orchardist would do well to dry some of the harvest for snacking, too. Another nice thing about pears is that, unlike a number of the earlier summer fruits, they ripen over a fairly extended time period. Different pear varieties are better suited to certain uses than others. In order of ripening popular varieties include:

Early Summer

Harrow Delight. Ripening 2 to 4 weeks before Bartlett, in early to mid August, Harrow Delight is a medium-sized, high-quality eating pear. It is resistant to fireblight and pear scab.

Chapin. One of the best-flavored early pears, Chapin has a smooth, sweet, melting flavor. A productive, compact tree, it does well in the home orchard but is fireblight susceptible.

Clapp’s Favorite. A large, attractive, juicy pear, Clapp’s Favorite is quite productive and very hardy. The tree has a more open, spreading growth habit than many other pear varieties and produces an abundance of spur growth. The tree is quite susceptible to fireblight. It should be pruned sparingly land during the dormant season only. Fruit ripens in mid to late August and has a tendency to have internal breakdown at the core, so it is important to pick Clapp’s Favorite early. It is excellent for eating and acceptable for canning. Because of its sweetness, you may be able to use a lighter syrup when canning this variety. Its texture when canned will sometimes be grainy and not quite as smooth as a Bartlett.

Moonglow. A medium-sized, mild, flavored pear, it requires a month or two of storage for full flavor development. Moonglow is an upright, vigorous tree that is resistant to fireblight. Production is increased by planting near a pollinator variety. Moonglow ripens about a week before Bartlett and bears early in its life.

Aurora. An extremely high quality eating pear. Large in size, Aurora will keep for several months. The tree has a vigorous, spreading growth habit and is susceptible to fireblight.

Late Summer

Bartlett. The world’s best-known, all-purpose pear variety, Bartlett is sometimes called “Williams” or “Williams Bon Chreitien” in Europe and in older literature. It has the stereotypical pear shape and a juicy, sweet flavor. Its smooth texture has made it a favorite for canning both in the home kitchen and for commercial production. The tree is adaptable to a number of climates, but is susceptible to fireblight. The ripening season for Bartlett varies from early August in California to early September in Michigan and much of the Northeast. It does hold better on the tree than most other pear varieties, but still keeps best if picked green and ripened off the tree.

Early Autumn

Magness. A fireblight-tolerant pear, Magness has medium-sized fruit. Its slightly russetted skin is fairly tough and resistant to insect injury. Normally ripening a week after Bartlett, the fruit will store well for up to three months and still ripen to acceptable quality. Magness will start producing at around 6 to 7 years of age and will require a good pollen source as it is pollen sterile. It can be planted with many of the Asian pear varieties since many of them will pollinate Magness.

Seckel. A very hardy and productive self-fruitful pear, Seckel has long been a favorite of home gardeners. Often called “the sugar pear”, it is small, firm, and very sweet. It is excellent for fresh eating and very nice for making spiced or pickled pears. A bit slow to begin fruiting, it is some-what resistant to fireblight. The normal harvest time for Seckel is early to mid September.

D’Anjou. This green, large sized pear has excellent quality as a winter eating pear and will store as seven months under refrigeration around 32◦F and 90% humidity. A large, vigorous tree, D’Anjou is winter hardy and fireblight tolerant. Due to its high vigor, it will benefit from heavy, selective pruning to maintain fruiting spurs. D’Anjou has long been a favorite for the home orchard.

Comice. An excellent-flavored eating pear, Comice is not normally used for canning. It is selective in where it grows best, favoring Oregon and California primarily. Normally harvested in late September in these areas, it has a tender skin that requires careful handling. Comice is vigorous and fireblight-resistant, but tends to crop erratically.

Late autumn

Beurre Bosc. A premium quality eating pear, Bosc has a heavily russetted skin and very smooth white flesh. Normally harvested a month after Bartlett, in early October, it keeps well and will develop considerable flavor in storage. A slow-growing tree with a gangly growth habit, it is sometimes difficult to train. The tree will be large and productive at maturity. Somewhat susceptible to fireblight, older Bosc trees are also occasionally more prone to stony pit virus.

Fireblight- Resistant pear varieties
Atlantic Queen	Beurre Bosc	Golden Spice	Harrow Delight	Harrow Sweet	Harvest Queen
Ayres	Bradford	Honeysweet	Kieffer	LeConte	Lincoln
Lucious	Magness	Maxine	Mericourt	Moonglow	Morgan
Old Home	Orient	Potomac	Seckel	Tyson	Ure
Waite	Warren

Low-Chill (<300 hours) Pear Varieties
Baldwin	Carnes	Fan-Stil	Floradahome	Garber	Hengsan
Hood	Kieffer	Orient	Pineapple	Selet	Spadona

Judging Ripeness and Harvest Time

A special note about harvesting pears should be made. While many fruits are at their most flavorful if allowed to remain on the tree until fully ripe, domestic pears are an exception. A pear ripens from the core out. So, although it may appear hard and green on the outside, the inside is often already overripe, broken down, and has developed a musty, unpleasant flavor. How is it then that you may have eaten some very sweet, delicious pears?

If pears are picked when they are still hard and slightly immature and then partially ripened under refrigeration, you will get a fruit that has both excellent flavor and keeping quality. Observe your pears daily as the approach the normal ripening time in your area. (If this is your first pear crop, you may want to consult your local extension service regarding typical harvest dates in your area). The number of days from bloom to harvest is also a fairly reliable indicator of harvest readiness. The chart below lists some of the common varieties and their normal maturity time.

Pears typically show harvest readiness just as the ground color of the skin begins to change from a dull green to greenish yellow. Most often you will notice changes around the lenticels, the small pores in the skin, first. When the color of the lenticels changes from white to brown the pear is mature and will ripen off the tree. Pick the pear with a slight upward twist to one side. If the fruit is ready to be picked, it will pop off the spur fairy easily. Some of the early-season varieties ripen unevenly land may need to be harvested in several pickings over the course of a week’s time. Varieties from Bartlett season and beyond can usually be harvested in one picking. Once the fruit is picked, store it at 34 ◦F (or as close as your home refrigerator will permit) for 2 to 3 weeks and ripen small quantities at room temperature (60 to 65◦ F) to suit your needs. Pears stored above 75◦ F may break down without every ripening properly.

To check for eating readiness gently press the neck around the base of the stem with your thumb. If the flesh gives slightly, the pear is ready to eat. Don’t allow it to become overripe. Also do not use yellow color as an indicator of ripeness because the fruit will often to overripe and brown inside before the outside is very yellow. Pears that are not fully ripe can be stored anywhere from several weeks to several months if kept properly cool. Ripe pears can still be kept several days if refrigerated, but flavor may decrease some. The flesh of a ripe pear will give slightly when pressed with your thumb at the base of the stem. An easy rhyme to remember is “just check the neck”.

Quick Reference Domestic Pear
Average Years To Bearing	Dwarf, 3-5 Years, Standard, 8-10 Years
Average Yield Per Tree	Dwarf, 1+bushels Standard, 3 bushels
Space Needed Per Tree	10-15 foot Circle
Average Mature Height	15-20 feet
Pollination requirements	Needs cross-pollination
Most common pruning system	Modified central leader
Bears fruit on	Spurs that are several years old
Suggested fruit thinning distance	4-6 inches apart
Average useful life	15 +years
Number of trees for a family of 4	2 trees