Pear
Check pollination needs before buying, as with apple — most pears need a compatible pollination partner flowering at the same time.
Care
Shelter from late frost, which damages the early blossom.
Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil.
Winter-prune to maintain a spur-bearing framework; summer-prune (Aug) trained forms (espalier/cordon), as for apple.
Sulphate of potash in late winter over a compost mulch, the same as for apples. Pears flower earlier than apples and a well-fed but frost-caught tree still sets nothing — shelter matters as much as feeding.
Grafted, like apples, and for the same reason: the rootstock controls size and the variety will not come true from seed. Buy the tree on the rootstock that suits the space.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- JanuaryWinter-prune to an open, spur-bearing framework. how ›
- AprilProtect early blossom from late frost with fleece overnight if a cold snap threatens. how ›
- SeptemberHarvest — most pears ripen best picked slightly under-ripe and finished indoors. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- JanuaryWinter-prune to an open, spur-bearing framework. how ›
- SeptemberHarvest — most pears ripen best picked slightly under-ripe and finished indoors. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Bright orange spots on leaves.
What to do. Rake up and dispose of fallen leaves.
How to spot it. Maggoty, misshapen fruitlets that drop early.
What to do. Remove and dispose of affected fruitlets promptly.
How to spot it. Blackened, scorched-looking blossom and shoots.
What to do. Cut out well below the affected area, disinfect tools.
Questions
Pear: is it hardy?
H6: Hardy in the vast majority of UK gardens. It survives down to −20 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Suitable on a dwarfing quince rootstock.
Pear: when do you prune it?
Winter-prune to maintain a spur-bearing framework; summer-prune (Aug) trained forms (espalier/cordon), as for apple. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in January.
Pear: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in April.
When do you feed it?
Sulphate of potash in late winter over a compost mulch, the same as for apples. Pears flower earlier than apples and a well-fed but frost-caught tree still sets nothing — shelter matters as much as feeding. Feeding months, UK: February–March.