When it comes to growing fruit trees, pears require less maintenance than other trees like apple or peach. Pear trees are generally less prone to pests and diseases than other fruit trees, which means they don’t require sprays to stay healthy. While they are susceptible to fire blight, planting a disease-resistant variety can help. In addition to being easy to care for, having pears to harvest directly in your yard means you can whip up pear pie, jars of preserves, cakes, and other pear recipes to enjoy all season. And the trees add beauty to your yard the rest of the year with fragrant spring blooms that attract pollinators, glossy green foliage that turns red and gold each fall, and dramatic bare winter branches. Get started on your personal pear orchard. Here’s what it takes.
When To Plant Pear Trees
You’ll need to plant two pear trees of different varieties for a successful fruit harvest. Pear trees won’t pollinate themselves. Their roots prefer cool weather, so early spring and late fall are the best times for planting. Seasonal rains also help roots to establish quickly.
Which Pear Tree To Grow
Choosing the right pear tree for your area will give you the best results. Fire blight is a common disease that’s relatively easy to manage, but it can infect and kill pear trees if it goes undiagnosed. Look for disease-resistant varieties so you won’t have to go through the process of healing your tree or planting a new one.
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If you live in a colder climate in Zones 3-5, look for ‘Golden Spice’, which produces fruits that are good for canning. It’s a good companion for ‘Ure’. Gardeners in warmer Zones 5-9 can grow ‘Moonglow’, which is fire blight resistant and produces fruits that are similar to Bartlett pears. In these regions, Asian pears like ‘Shinko’ and ‘Olympic’ grow well.
For smaller spaces, dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are a good option because they mature at 8 to 12 feet tall.
Can You Grow Pear Trees From Seeds?
Growing a pear tree from seed is entirely possible, but if you’re looking for tasty harvests, this isn’t the best route to take. Pears grown from store-bought pears or those you’ve grown yourself won’t grow true to seed. You’ll end up with a hybrid that produces small, bitter fruit. It also takes five to 10 years for the tree to mature enough to develop flowers and fruit. Growing a pear tree from seed can be a fun gardening experiment, but purchase a young tree from your local nursery for harvesting.
How To Grow Pears From Cuttings
In the spring or fall, choose a healthy 8- to 10-inch shoot. Use clean, sharp pruners to cut it below a leaf node.
Remove any lower leaves and dip the cut end into rooting hormone.
Fill a pot with soilless potting mix such as perlite, peat moss, or coco coir. Plant the cutting into the mix.
Cover the pot with a plastic bag to produce humidity, and set it in a sunny spot that gets bright, indirect light.
Keep the soil moist, but make sure it doesn’t get too soggy.
It will take a few months for roots to develop enough that you can transplant the sapling to your yard.
How To Plant A Pear Tree
Pears need full sun to grow. Choose a sunny location that gets at least six to eight hours of sunlight each day.
For each tree, dig a hole that’s the same depth as and twice as wide as its nursery pot to ensure there’s enough room for the roots to spread. You’ll want to space your two pear trees 20 to 25 feet apart, or 12 to 15 feet if they are dwarf varieties.
Loosen the sides and bottom of the hole to aerate the soil, and amend it with compost or manure.
Set the tree in the hole and spread out the roots. Fill in the empty space with the soil that was removed. Make sure the tree is straight and upright.
Slowly water the tree, starting with 5 gallons of water for the first watering. Continue to water every few days or daily if needed to keep the soil from drying out.
Spread a 2-inch layer of compost or manure on top of the soil starting a few inches from the base of the tree and out to the tree’s drip line.
Fencing, a plastic guard, or screen can protect the young tree, especially during winter.
How To Care For Pear Trees
Have patience. It can take three years or more for pear trees to bear fruit. Keeping the tree healthy is key so that when it does begin to produce fruit, you’ll be rewarded with a good harvest.
Light
Pear trees need full sun, about six to eight hours of direct light a day. This will help them produce sweeter fruit.
Water
During the first year, newly planted trees should be watered weekly, about an inch each week. Water slowly and deeply. Check the soil before watering. If it feels moist, it doesn’t need water just yet. Once the tree has established and the roots have grown deeper, you don’t need to water as often. Do water deeply during dry spells.
Soil
When planting, soil should be loamy, nutrient-rich, and well-draining. Pears like acidic soil (5.9–6.5). You can perform a soil test to make sure the planting location will support a pear tree and make adjustments if needed.
Fertilizer
New trees don’t need fertilizer. They’ll get needed nitrogen from the soil. If the tree grows 18 to 24 inches in one year, there’s no need to supplement. If growth begins to slow, layer compost around the tree’s base or use a balanced fertilizer.
Pruning
Annual pruning keeps pear trees healthy. Pruning should establish a central leader system that features the strongest upright branch with scaffold branches emerging outward toward the north, south, east, and west to develop a pyramid framework. Cut any competing upright shoots at the base, and remove surrounding branches that compete with the scaffold branches. Remove dead, damaged, diseased, and crossing limbs as well. Annual pruning should be done in late winter to early spring when the trees are dormant.
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