Pears: Home Orchard Gems Beyond the Grocery Store

Home gardeners can grow high-quality pear varieties unavailable in grocery stores, making pear trees an excellent choice for the home orchard.

About This Plant

Pears grow wherever apples succeed, though they're less tolerant of extreme heat and cold. They need less pruning and insect control than apples and tolerate moist soils better. Choose fire blight-resistant varieties and rootstocks, especially outside dry western regions. Most varieties bear significant harvests after 5–6 years. Plant at least two different, compatible varieties for cross-pollination.

Site Selection

Choose a site with full sun, moderate fertility, good air circulation, and water drainage. Pears tolerate a wide range of soil types.

Planting Instructions

For bare-root: set atop a small soil mound in the hole center, spread roots down and away. Identify original planting depth by trunk color change. If grafted, position graft union curve interior away from afternoon sun. For container-grown: remove from pot, eliminate circling roots by cutting through root ball on its side. Don't cover root-ball top with backfill. Space standard trees 20–25 feet apart; dwarfs 12–15 feet apart.

Care

Pears benefit from a small amount of fertilizer early in the year. Heavy nitrogen increases fire blight vulnerability. Use limb spreaders to encourage horizontal branching and earlier fruiting spurs. Contact your Cooperative Extension office for regional pest/disease management.

Harvesting

Harvest when mature but still hard; ripen off the tree for best eating and canning quality. For cool storage (1–2 months), pick at full size but still quite hard. Handle gently—they bruise easily despite firm skin.