Common Pear

Year-round

A pear tree wants deep, infrequent watering and a shape that stays open to light and air. Fire blight is the big disease to watch for.

• Water at the drip line, not at the trunk, to avoid root and crown disease.
• Train an open center or modified vase shape in the first 2 to 3 years.
• Remove diseased wood right away and disinfect pruning tools.
• Leave the graft union 2 inches above the soil line when planting.

Keep the shape open and tidy so the tree reads as cared for from the street.

Fall

Ease off the water as the season winds down.

• Reduce watering in late summer and fall.
• Remove any diseased wood and disinfect tools after each use.
• Pears rarely need fruit thinning unless the crop is very heavy.

Winter

Winter is the planting and shaping window.

• Plant bare-root trees in winter or early spring while dormant.
• Dig a hole about 1.5 to 2 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep.
• On trees 6 to 8 years old or more, take out about one-fifth to one-third of the older fruit wood each year.

Spring

Spring is for feeding and watching new growth.

• Apply nitrogen in spring, or split it between spring and after harvest.
• If new leaves look small, a chelated zinc spray can help.
• Cut out any diseased wood right away and disinfect tools between cuts.

Summer

Summer is about deep, not frequent, water.

• Water established trees every 2 to 3 weeks, soaking 12 to 24 hours to reach 3 to 6 feet deep.
• Young trees may need 3 to 5 gallons a week.
• Skip light sprinkler watering, which keeps roots shallow.

Year-round

Year-round care for common pear around Fort Worth, TX: choose a fire blight tolerant type, plant more than one variety, and grow at a moderate pace.

• Texas A&M says true European pears such as 'Bartlett', 'Bosc' and 'Anjou' are limited by fire blight almost everywhere in Texas. European hybrids like 'Kieffer' and 'Moonglow' were bred for resistance, though they vary.
• Pears are cross pollinated, so plant more than one variety with similar chilling needs.
• Pears handle heavy, wetter soil better than many fruit trees. In high-pH soil, some rootstocks show iron deficiency.
• Plant on an elevated site or hillside if you can. Air flow there lowers losses when a spring frost hits.
• Let the tree grow at a moderate pace rather than pushing it in the first few years, which lowers the fire blight risk.

Fall

Fall care for common pear around Fort Worth, TX: harvest European hybrids, and watch for decline.

• European hybrid pears ripen from late summer through mid-fall.
• Trees on alkaline soil can decline slowly in cool weather from cotton root rot, a soil disease with no known effective treatment. Texas A&M notes pears are very susceptible.
• Cotton root rot is more common on creek bottoms and spots where sediment settles than on upland sites.
• Be patient with young trees. Some European hybrids take 8 to 10 years to bear a first crop.

Winter

Winter care for common pear around Fort Worth, TX: train the structure while dormant, and match chill to the variety.

• Train a young tree to a central leader, one strong trunk with scaffold limbs every 3 to 4 feet, or to a modified central leader with three or four leaders.
• To lower fire blight risk, use weights to bend limbs outward rather than pruning to push side branching.
• When planting a new tree, cut the trunk back by about a third and keep the graft union above ground.
• Chilling needs vary. Asian and European hybrid cultivars typically need 200 to 800 hours below 45 F, while many true European pears need over 1,000 hours.

Spring

Spring care for common pear around Fort Worth, TX: watch blossoms and shoots for fire blight, protect against frost, and feed lightly.

• Check blossoms and shoot tips. Fire blight shows as water-soaked blossoms, wilted blackened leaves, and shoot tips that turn black and bend like a shepherd's crook.
• Rain during bloom can raise fire blight pressure, so look more often in wet springs.
• Pears bloom later than some other fruit, but a spring frost still cuts the crop in some years.
• Control weeds and give the tree ample water and small, frequent amounts of nitrogen.

Summer

Summer care for common pear around Fort Worth, TX: keep watching for fire blight and leaf spot, and cut out infected wood promptly.

• Heat and rain in summer can raise fire blight pressure. A gummy, amber ooze on bark or shoots is another sign of infection.
• If fire blight appears, cut out diseased wood at least 8 to 12 inches below the last sign of infection and haul it away from the trees.
• So the disease does not spread to other trees, disinfect pruning tools in a 10 percent bleach solution, then dry and oil them to prevent rust.
• Fabraea leaf spot can defoliate susceptible trees and pit the fruit in wet years. Removing infected tissue helps, and your county Extension office can advise further.
• Asian pears ripen in late summer.

Year-round

Year-round care for common pear around Dallas, TX: choose a fire blight tolerant type, plant more than one variety, and grow at a moderate pace.

• Texas A&M says true European pears such as 'Bartlett', 'Bosc' and 'Anjou' are limited by fire blight almost everywhere in Texas. European hybrids like 'Kieffer' and 'Moonglow' were bred for resistance, though they vary.
• Pears are cross pollinated, so plant more than one variety with similar chilling needs.
• Pears handle heavy, wetter soil better than many fruit trees. In high-pH soil, some rootstocks show iron deficiency.
• Plant on an elevated site or hillside if you can. Air flow there lowers losses when a spring frost hits.
• Let the tree grow at a moderate pace rather than pushing it in the first few years, which lowers the fire blight risk.

Fall

Fall care for common pear around Dallas, TX: harvest European hybrids, and watch for decline.

• European hybrid pears ripen from late summer through mid-fall.
• Trees on alkaline soil can decline slowly in cool weather from cotton root rot, a soil disease with no known effective treatment. Texas A&M notes pears are very susceptible.
• Cotton root rot is more common on creek bottoms and spots where sediment settles than on upland sites.
• Be patient with young trees. Some European hybrids take 8 to 10 years to bear a first crop.

Winter

Winter care for common pear around Dallas, TX: train the structure while dormant, and match chill to the variety.

• Train a young tree to a central leader, one strong trunk with scaffold limbs every 3 to 4 feet, or to a modified central leader with three or four leaders.
• To lower fire blight risk, use weights to bend limbs outward rather than pruning to push side branching.
• When planting a new tree, cut the trunk back by about a third and keep the graft union above ground.
• Chilling needs vary. Asian and European hybrid cultivars typically need 200 to 800 hours below 45 F, while many true European pears need over 1,000 hours.

Spring

Spring care for common pear around Dallas, TX: watch blossoms and shoots for fire blight, protect against frost, and feed lightly.

• Check blossoms and shoot tips. Fire blight shows as water-soaked blossoms, wilted blackened leaves, and shoot tips that turn black and bend like a shepherd's crook.
• Rain during bloom can raise fire blight pressure, so look more often in wet springs.
• Pears bloom later than some other fruit, but a spring frost still cuts the crop in some years.
• Control weeds and give the tree ample water and small, frequent amounts of nitrogen.

Summer

Summer care for common pear around Dallas, TX: keep watching for fire blight and leaf spot, and cut out infected wood promptly.

• Heat and rain in summer can raise fire blight pressure. A gummy, amber ooze on bark or shoots is another sign of infection.
• If fire blight appears, cut out diseased wood at least 8 to 12 inches below the last sign of infection and haul it away from the trees.
• So the disease does not spread to other trees, disinfect pruning tools in a 10 percent bleach solution, then dry and oil them to prevent rust.
• Fabraea leaf spot can defoliate susceptible trees and pit the fruit in wet years. Removing infected tissue helps, and your county Extension office can advise further.
• Asian pears ripen in late summer.