Pear

Site and soil

Pears want full sun and a deep, well-drained loam at pH 6.0 to 7.0, but they are more forgiving of heavy clay and briefly wet ground than any other tree fruit, which is why old pears survive in places apples would not. Avoid a site that stays saturated for weeks, and avoid the richest, most fertile ground: lush growth is the growth fire blight attacks.

Choose a site with good air movement and avoid frost pockets. Pear blooms a week or so before apples, so a slope that drains cold air protects the crop.

Spacing

Mature trees run 15 to 20 ft tall and 12 to 20 ft wide, and pears are naturally upright. Set them 15 to 20 ft apart. Keep pollination partners within about 50 ft.

Planting

Plant in early spring while dormant, or in fall after leaf drop.

• Dig the hole as deep as the root system and two to three times as wide.
• Set the tree so the graft union sits 2 to 4 inches above the finished soil line.
• Backfill with native soil and water in well.
• Mulch 3 to 4 inches deep in a ring, kept back from the trunk.
• Guard the trunk against deer, rabbits and voles.

Pollination

Most pears need pollen from a different pear variety that blooms at the same time; European and Asian pears will pollinate each other when their bloom overlaps. Magness produces sterile pollen, so it needs two other varieties nearby and cannot pollinate them in return. Kieffer is partly self-fertile but crops much better with a partner. Bees and flies carry the pollen, and pear flowers are less attractive to honey bees than apple flowers, so a diverse pollinator planting nearby pays off.

First-year care

• Water deeply once a week through the first growing season and in dry spells the second.
• Keep a grass-free mulched circle around the trunk.
• Pinch off any fruit that sets in the first two years so the tree builds its frame.
• No fertilizer in year one, and go very lightly after that. Nitrogen pushes the soft growth that fire blight infects.

Pruning

Train to a central leader with well-spaced scaffold branches, and spread the narrow upright branches that pears naturally make while the wood is young. Pears can be slow to come into bearing, and bending branches toward horizontal brings fruit sooner.

Prune in late winter while dormant and keep cuts to a minimum, since heavy pruning invites vigorous shoots and fire blight. Remove dead, crossing and inward wood, water sprouts and suckers.

Fire blight is the disease to know. It shows as blackened, scorched-looking shoots with a curled tip in late spring. Cut each strike out 8 to 12 inches below the visible damage into healthy wood, in dry weather, and disinfect the blade between cuts. Remove the prunings from the orchard.

Harvest

Grafted pears begin bearing in about 4 to 6 years. Harvest runs from August to October depending on the variety. European pears are the one fruit you pick before they are ripe: harvest when the fruit is full size and the skin has lightened slightly but the flesh is still firm, then ripen them indoors at room temperature for a week or so, or hold them in the refrigerator and bring out a few at a time. A pear left to ripen on the tree goes mealy at the core. Asian pears like Korean Giant are the exception; let them ripen on the tree until crisp and sweet and the skin turns golden brown.

A mature pear can give 100 pounds or more. Kieffer is the pear for canning, preserves and pear butter. Moonglow, Magness and Warren are dessert pears for eating fresh. Korean Giant keeps for months in the refrigerator.