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Growing Fruits: Growing Pears in

the Home Orchard


Pears will grow well in all but the coldest areas of New Hampshire.
Popular varieties such as Bartlett and Bosc are reasonably winter
hardy where temperatures seldom fall below -25oF. However, pears
bloom several days earlier than apples. As a result, late spring frost
may damage developing buds, flowers, or fruit on frost-prone sites.

What about dwarf pear trees?

Pear trees, like other tree fruits, are produced by grafting the de-
sired variety (such as Bartlett) onto a rootstock. Pear seedlings are
commonly used as rootstocks and produce trees that are reasonably
winter hardy and vigorous. Pear trees have upright growth habits,
and trees grafted onto seedling rootstocks can be quite tall. They are
normally spaced 15 to 20 feet apart in the home garden.

Dwarf pear trees are produced by grafting pear varieties onto

selected dwarfing rootstocks. Traditionally, quince roots were used
to create dwarf pear trees. The result is a tree approximately half
the size of seedling-rootstock trees. Quince roots aren’t as winter
hardy as pear seedling roots and don’t tolerate either excessive soil
moisture or drought well. In addition, quince roots are very suscep-
tible to fire blight, a bacterial disease. Dwarf pear trees are normally
planted eight feet apart.
Figure 1. From The Pears of New York by
Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick. 1921.
Newer semi-dwarfing rootstocks are available for pear. Pear vari-
eties grafted onto these semi-dwarfing rootstocks should produce
trees about 2/3 the size of standard trees. In addition, these semi-
dwarf pear trees will produce fruit earlier in life. Examples of these
semi-dwarf rootstocks are OHxF 40, OHxF 333, OHxF 513 and
OHxF 87. Some fruit tree nurseries will give you the option of All pear varieties require cross-pollina-
selecting both the variety and the rootstock on which it is grafted. tion to set good crops of fruit, although
These are equally good choices. Space semi-dwarf pear trees 12 feet some varieties, such as Seckel, may set
apart in the home orchard. adequate crops when planted alone.

Purchasing nursery stock

Purchase trees from a reputable garden dealer or nursery. Tree
quality should be the major consideration when purchasing trees.
Heavily branched, one-year-old trees usually grow better than
smaller ones.
 Varieties
D id You Know? Clapp’s Favorite is a late summer pear, ripening late August, with very
Pear trees will do reason- large fruit with good flavor. Bartlett is the standard for flavor, and it
ably well in a wide range of ripens in early September in NH. Bosc is a good pollinator for Bartlett,
and it ripens about October 1. Unfortunately, all three of these varieties
soil types, although they
are susceptible to fire blight. Seckel is a small, sweet, firm pear that may
will not tolerate poorly
be partially self-fruitful and has good resistance to fire blight. Magness,
drained soils with a high
Potomac and Moonglow offer excellent fire-blight resistance and fruit
water table. Pear trees quality. Honeysweet and Luscious also offer good fire-blight resistance.
require full sunlight all For Coos County and other colder locations Flemish Beauty, Harrow
day long. Delight, Nova and Luscious are very cold-hardy choices.

Pollination requirements
All pear varieties require cross-pollination to set good crops of fruit,
although some varieties, such as Seckel, may set adequate crops when
planted alone. With good bee activity, most combinations of varieties
are satisfactory for cross-pollination. One combination that doesn’t
work is Seckel and Bartlett. Pear flowers are not as attractive to bees as
many other flowers, so we recommend planting three or more varieties.
Some varieties, such as Magness and Luscious, do not produce good
pollen, and therefore won’t work well as a pollinizer for other varieties.

Getting ready to plant

Pear trees will do reasonably well in a wide range of soil types, although
they will not tolerate poorly drained soils with a high water table. Pear
trees require full sunlight all day long.

Proper soil preparation is an important first step. For best results,

Figure 2. A tree of Clapp’s Favorite in eradicate perennial weeds, such as quackgrass, before planting. The
a home orchard, loaded with fruit at soil pH should be 6.0-7.0 for pears. Soil testing can be done through a
harvest time. Photo: B. Sideman
number of private and public labs. UNH Cooperative Extension offers
this service. Forms and instructions are available on our website: exten-
sion.unh.edu/Problem-Diagnosis-and-Testing-Services/Soil-Testing,
or you can call your local county Extension office or our Info Line at
1-877-EXT-GROW (1-877-398-4769).

If the planting site isn’t ready when the trees arrive from the nursery,
unwrap the trees and “heel-in” the roots in moist soil in a shady spot.
Plant the trees before growth begins in the early spring; early to mid-
May is ideal.

Planting the tree

If the planting site is especially gravelly or sandy it might be useful to
incorporate organic matter from green manure crops or surface-applied
sources such as compost. The plant debris or surface-applied organic
matter should be mixed thoroughly with soil before digging the plant-
ing hole.
Figure 3. Pear blossoms, ready for polli-
nation. Photo: B. Sideman Dig a hole large enough to allow the roots to be spread out completely.
This usually will require a hole that’s much wider than it is deep. Back-
fill the planting hole using topsoil. Don’t use sod to fill the hole.

UNH Cooperative Extension • 2

Plant dwarf and semi-dwarf pear trees so the graft unions are two
or three inches above the soil surface. The graft union is the point
where the variety was grafted onto the rootstock. Backfill the hole
two-thirds full, soak in two gallons of water and finish backfilling.
Don’t leave a depression or water catching basin around the tree.
Remove any tags or labels attached to the trees, as they may girdle
the trunks after growth begins.

Don’t add fertilizer to the planting hole. Trees may be fertilized

after rain has thoroughly settled the soil around the roots (two to
three weeks after planting) with one-quarter pound of 10-10-10 or
an equivalent amount of compost by spreading it lightly in a wide
circle 16 to 20 inches from the tree trunk.

Pruning at planting
Cut back one-year-old whips (unbranched trees) to 33 to 36 inches
above the ground. Trees less than 36 inches tall don’t need heading
back. If the trees you received from the nursery are well branched,
leave as many well-positioned branches in the tree as possible
to aid growth. Remove branches that are very upright (e.g. with
crotch angles narrower than 60°) and those lower than 18 inches
from the ground.
Figure 4. Pear tree before pruning.
Photo: W. Lord
Training the young pear tree
Young pear trees should be trained to the central-leader system
(Figs. 3 and 4) used in training apple trees. Because of their upright
growth habit, young pear trees may appear too dense; however,
once they begin to fruit, the branches will spread naturally. Limit
pruning of young trees to those cuts necessary to maintain the
dominance of the central leader. To promote fruiting at an earlier
age, position lateral branches to achieve a branch angle or 60 o to
75o from the trunk or leader. Properly positioned branches will
grow and fruit well without competing with the trunk of the tree
for dominance. Position branches by bending the branch to proper
position and securing it with heavy twine tied to a stake driven
into the ground or to an anchor. A gallon milk jug filled with wa-
ter makes a good anchor. Insure that the twine does not girdle the
branch.

Pruning the mature pear tree

Because of their susceptibility to fire blight, pear trees are pruned
less severely than apple trees. Pruning is often limited to removing
suckers and those branches that are excessively large compared
to its neighbors. It may be necessary to do some thinning out of
smaller branches to allow better light and spray penetration and Figure 5. Pear tree after pruning. Excess
to improve size and color of the fruit. The best course of action is limbs, over-sized limbs and water
almost always to remove a problem branch entirely. The optimum sprouts were removed. Photo: W. Lord
height of a mature standard pear tree is between 15 and 18 feet.
This height can be maintained by cutting the central leader back to
a weaker, up-right growing side branch every 2 or 3 years.

UNH Cooperative Extension • 3

Fertilizing pear trees
Pear trees growing too vigorously are more susceptible to fire blight infection than those making moderate
growth. Fertilize young pear trees with up to a pound of a general garden fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or its
equivalent. Older trees that are growing well (more than 10 inches of new growth each year) need no fertilizer.

Managing pests and diseases

Fire blight is the most serious disease of pear and pear psylla is the main insect pest of pears. Basic informa-
tion on how to manage these problems and others is available in the publication “Home Fruit Spray Schedule”.
Additional information can be found by contacting our Info Line at 1-877-EXT-GROW (1-877-398-4769).

Harvesting and ripening

Pears differ from many other fruits in that they reach optimum harvest maturity while they are still firm and
green. Some pear cultivars (including Clapp’s Favorite, Bartlett, and Bosc) are susceptible to a disorder called
“core breakdown” or “internal breakdown” if they are allowed to ripen on the tree. With this disorder, the
flesh around the core becomes brown and soft. Optimum harvest maturity can be hard to determine; the best
approach is to 1) have an idea of the approximate maturity time for the cultivar, 2) watch for a slight color
change from a darker to a lighter shade of green, and 3) monitor fruit size (except Seckel, pears should be at
least 2 inches in diameter at the base when mature). The best quality will be achieved if pears are harvested
slightly before they are ripe, stored at 30-32F (refrigerator temperature works well in a home setting), and
then ripened at room temperature (60-70F) for up to a week before eating or canning. Pears are very delicate,
and should be handled very carefully during harvest and storage to prevent bruising or wounds.

About the Author

Fact sheet developed by Dr. Becky Sideman is an
William Lord, UNH Extension Fruit Specialist and Amy Ouellette, Extension Extension Professor in the
Educator, Agricultural Resources, Dept. of Biological Sciences
January 2010 at UNH, and is the state
specialist for Sustainable
Revised by
Horticulture for UNH
Becky Sideman, UNH Extension Professor & Specialist
Cooperative Extension. Her
March 2017
program emphasizes vegetable
and berry crop production
including season extension for
Visit our website: Northern New England.
extension.unh.edu For More Information
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