Tree fruit
How to grow pears
Pyrus communis
Plant a pear tree between November and March in the warmest, most sheltered spot you have, in deep, fertile soil that does not dry out. Pears flower two to three weeks before apples, so frost on the blossom is the main reason for a poor crop; a south or west wall, with the tree trained as an espalier or cordon, is the surest site. Most varieties also need a second, compatible pear nearby for pollination.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy (blossom frost-prone)
- Position
- Full sun, sheltered (it flowers early)
- Soil
- Deep, fertile, moisture-retentive
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Moderate, more than apple in dry spells
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting pears
WhenPlant bare-root Nov to Mar; blossom Apr; harvest Aug to Oct, ripened indoors
Starting off
Plant bare-root Nov to Mar, pot-grown any month. Trees are budded in Jul to Aug onto quince rootstock, with a Beurré Hardy interstem for incompatible varieties such as Williams'. Plant two compatible varieties, Conference and Concorde set some fruit alone but crop far better with a partner.
Spacing and planting
Quince C rootstock spreads 3 to 3.5 m, Quince A 3.5 to 4.5 m, seedling pear 7 m plus; cordons 75 cm apart, espalier tiers 40 cm. Hole 60 cm wide, union 10 cm above soil. Fine in a 45 cm pot on Quince C with a permanent stake.
Varieties worth growing
- Conference
- The most reliable pear for British gardens: sets some fruit without a partner, tolerates cooler sites, and is ready from late September.
- Concorde
- A Conference and Comice cross with better flavour than Conference on a compact tree that crops young; good for cordons and pots.
- Doyenné du Comice
- The finest flavour of any pear, juicy and melting; needs a warm wall and a pollination partner to crop.
- Beth
- Small, sweet early pear ready at the end of August; crops heavily from a young age and ripens well in cooler summers.
- Invincible
- Very hardy and often produces a second flush of blossom if the first is frosted, so it suits colder and northern gardens.
Pears month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Winter prune free-standing trees. Plant bare-root trees in open weather.
- February
Finish winter pruning before the buds swell. Feed at the end of the month.
- March
Feed if not done and mulch. Last bare-root planting. Have fleece ready for wall-trained trees.
- April
Blossom. Cover cordons and espaliers with fleece on frosty nights and remove it by day for pollinators.
- May
Pick off blackened, midge-infested fruitlets. Water young trees in dry spells.
- June
After the natural June drop, thin to two fruits per cluster, one on cordons. Keep watering in drought.
- July
Summer prune cordons and espaliers late in the month, cutting new side shoots to three leaves.
- August
Pick Beth at the end of the month while still firm. Support heavy branches.
- September
Pick Williams' early in the month and start testing Conference at the end: lift and twist gently.
- October
Pick Conference, Concorde and Comice. Store cool and bring a few indoors at a time to ripen.
- November
Plant bare-root trees. Rake up fallen leaves to reduce scab. Check stored fruit weekly.
- December
Winter prune bush trees in dry weather. Check stakes and ties.
Feeding pears
A moderate feeder that responds to a potash-leaning spring feed and a mulch. Pears need a little more nitrogen and water than apples, especially when grown in grass.
A potassium-leaning balanced feed in spring.
Feeding plan
Planting, November to March
5 g per litre of root-ball volume, in contact with the roots, once: 50 g for a tree from a 10 litre pot. For a bare-root tree dust the damp roots all over.
Late February to March
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
70 to 100 g/m² spread under the whole canopy. A tree 2 m across covers about 3 m²: 210 to 300 g. Use the higher figure for trees growing in grass.
March, light soil or trees that crop poorly despite good blossom
20 to 35 g/m² (the label rate for fruit): 60 to 105 g for a 3 m² canopy.
March to April, after feeding
Garden compost
A mulch 5 to 8 cm deep in a circle 1 m across or wider, kept clear of the trunk.
March, trees in pots
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
2 to 4 g per litre of compost as a top-dress: 80 to 160 g for a 45 cm pot holding about 40 litres.
Signs to watch
Cracked, corky, misshapen fruit with dieback
Boron short, usually on sandy soil
A boron trace feed, no more than once every 3 years
Yellow young leaves with green veins on chalk
Iron lockout
Sulphur, acidic mulch, seaweed
Pests, diseases and problems
Fruitlets swell quickly and go round, then turn black and drop in late May or June
Pear midge; small maggots feed inside the fruitlet
Pick off and bin every blackened fruitlet before it falls, and collect any on the ground, so the maggots cannot reach the soil to pupate. Doing this each year on a small tree steadily reduces the problem.
Dark, corky scabs on fruit and olive-brown blotches on leaves; fruit may crack
Pear scab, a fungus that thrives in wet springs
Rake up fallen leaves in autumn, prune out twigs with blistered bark in winter, and keep the tree open. Beurré Hardy and Gorham are among the more resistant varieties.
Bright orange spots on the upper side of leaves in summer
Pear rust, which spends part of its life on junipers
Usually tolerable. Pick off spotted leaves if there are only a few; a well-fed, watered tree copes with light attacks.
Raised yellow or red blisters on young leaves, turning black by midsummer
Pear leaf blister mite
Harmless to the crop. On a small tree pick off affected leaves in spring; otherwise ignore it.
Blossom and shoots wilt and blacken as if scorched, with dead leaves hanging on
Fireblight, a bacterial disease that enters through the flowers
Cut affected branches back at least 30 cm into healthy wood, more on thick branches, and disinfect tools between cuts. Bin or burn the prunings.
Fruit turns brown and soft on the tree with rings of buff pustules
Brown rot, entering through wounds made by birds, wasps or scab cracks
Remove rotten fruit from the tree and ground promptly and do not store damaged pears.
Pruning and harvest
Pruning and care
Winter-prune bush trees Nov to Feb: shorten leaders by a third while establishing, then thin crowded spurs, which pears make freely. Summer-prune cordons and espaliers in late July (a fortnight before apples), cutting new laterals to 3 leaves. Thin to 2 fruit per cluster in June. Fleece blossom on April frost nights.
Harvest and storage
Pick while still firm when the fruit lifts off with a gentle twist and the ground colour pales; ripen indoors at 18 °C for 3 to 7 days (Doyenné du Comice needs a fortnight at 2 to 4 °C first). Check daily, a ripe pear turns sleepy within 2 days. First crop 3 to 4 years on quince; a mature bush gives 20 to 40 kg.
Good to knowEarlier blossom than apple means it needs a warm, frost-free spot; usually needs a pollination partner.
Growing pears in pots
A pear on Quince C rootstock will grow for years in a 45 cm pot holding about 40 litres. Choose Concorde or Conference, which crop with less help from a partner, and stake permanently. Use peat-free loam-based compost with the 4-5-6 mixed in at 5 g per litre (200 g). Stand the pot against a warm wall and move or fleece it at blossom time. Water daily in summer, since a pear that dries out sheds its fruit. Thin to one fruit per cluster, top-dress every March and repot every second or third winter.
Pears: common questions
Do I need two pear trees to get fruit?
Usually yes: most pears need a different variety flowering at the same time within bee-flying distance. Conference and Concorde will set some fruit alone, but both crop far more heavily with a partner. A neighbour's pear tree counts.
Why are my baby pears turning black and falling off?
Blackened fruitlets that drop in late May and June are caused by pear midge, whose maggots feed inside the young fruit. Pick off and bin every affected fruitlet before it falls, and clear any from the ground, to break the cycle for next year.
Can I grow a pear tree in a small garden?
Yes, as a cordon or espalier on Quince C rootstock trained against a fence or wall. Cordons are planted 75 cm apart, so two varieties that pollinate each other fit into 1.5 m of fence, and the wall gives the early blossom some frost protection.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.