Pear

About Pear

Pears are long-lived fruit trees, usually grafted onto a dwarfing rootstock to keep them a manageable size. They need a second variety nearby for a good crop, and fire blight is the main disease to plan around.

NC State lists European pear for zones 4-8 and University of Minnesota names a couple of varieties for zone 3; low-chill varieties needing only about 150-400 chill hours below 45 F are grown in north and central Florida (UF/IFAS), but none are recommended south of Orlando.

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

• Set out plants: from 4 weeks before to 2 weeks after the last frost

Plant bare-root trees as soon as the soil can be worked and potted trees after frost (University of Minnesota); in the South, late fall to winter planting is best (NC State; UF/IFAS plants bare-root trees late December through January). Trees can take 3 to 10 years to begin bearing (University of Minnesota). Plant at least two varieties that bloom together, since most pears need cross-pollination (NC State).

Soil

Most soils work if they drain well; pears do best slightly acidic.

Plant in well-drained soil with a pH of about 6 to 7, and test the soil before planting.

Feeding

• Early spring from the second year on, only if new shoots grew less than about 12 inches last year: compost, or a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 if a soil test calls for it. Spread it on the soil under and just beyond the branches, keeping it 6 inches from the trunk; follow a soil test for the amount.

Too much nitrogen, even from compost, gives fast soft growth that fire blight attacks easily; trees making 18-24 inches of growth a year need no feeding.

Harvest

Pick European pears when mature but still firm, when the skin lightens from dark to lighter green or the dots on the skin turn brown, then ripen them indoors (University of Minnesota; UGA). Asian pear blossoms are very frost-sensitive and the fruit needs heavy thinning (NC State).

Pears give one crop a year, harvested August to October in Minnesota. Pick when mature but still firm and ripen them indoors; pears left to ripen on the tree turn gritty.

Varieties (42)

Pests to watch for

Codling moth, Pear psylla, Scale insects, Twospotted spider mite, Aphids, Japanese beetle, Voles, Rabbits, Sawflies (garden sawflies), Eriophyid mites (rust, bud, blister and gall mites), Katydids, Boxelder bugs, Roundheaded appletree borer, Flatheaded appletree borer, Obliquebanded leafroller, Pear sawfly (pearslug, cherry slug), European red mite, Plum curculio, Apple maggot, Cherry fruit fly, Eastern tent caterpillar, Green June beetle (fig-eater)

Diseases and problems

Fire blight, Powdery mildew, Anthracnose, Potassium deficiency, Cedar-quince rust, Sooty blotch and flyspeck, Gray mold (Botrytis)

In the kitchen

Eaten fresh, cooked or dried.

Keeping it: Pick European pears firm and ripen them at 60-70F in a paper bag; once ripe, keep them a few days on the counter or about 5 days in the fridge. Firm, mature pears hold for months in cold storage near 30-32F.

Pets: Not listed as toxic by the ASPCA