RHS Growing Guides
How to grow pears
Our detailed growing guide will help you with each step in successfully growing Pears.
Getting Started
Biting into a succulent, perfectly ripe pear is one of the joys of autumn. You may be lucky enough to have a tree in your garden already, but if not, they’re easy to plant and you can even grow compact trees in containers.
Pears are ready to harvest in late summer and autumn, depending on the variety
Young pear trees are very easy to plant and like a warm, sunny, sheltered spot in fertile soil that drains freely. There are many varieties to choose from, producing fruit of different shapes, colours, flavours and textures. Pear trees need little maintenance once established, although it’s beneficial to prune them annually to keep them in good shape and fruiting well. The fruit should be harvested just before it’s ripe and brought indoors to complete the ripening process, which can take a month or more depending on the variety. This means you can enjoy your harvest gradually, savouring each sweet juicy fruit as it reaches perfection.
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Choosing
There are lots of delicious varieties of pear (Pyrus communis) to choose from, both for eating (dessert) and cooking (culinary). Take your pick from traditional favourites or more disease-resistant modern varieties. In colder regions, it’s best to choose one that ripens early, and for growing in containers, select a compact variety such as ‘Obelisk’. Varieties with an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) have performed well in our growing trials, so are recommended by RHS experts – see our list of AGM fruit and veg. If you visit the RHS gardens, you’ll find many fruit trees, including pears, growing in the orchards and fruit plots. You can see how they’re grown, compare the varieties and pick up useful tips.
To get the best crop, most pear trees need their flowers to be pollinated by another pear variety flowering at the same time, so check if there are pear trees growing in nearby gardens. If not, you’ll need to plant another pear variety, making sure it will be a compatible pollinator. Alternatively, choose a variety that is self-fertile or partly self-fertile. See our pollination guide below for more advice.
Choosing pear rootstocks
As well as choosing the variety, you also need to choose the rootstock, which controls ultimate size of the tree. Pear trees are not grown on their own roots, as they would get too large for most gardens, reaching 6m (20ft) or more. Instead, the above-ground part of the tree (the variety) is grafted onto quince roots (the rootstock), and it’s the roots that dictate the tree’s vigour and size. The most widely available rootstocks are:
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‘Quince A’ – a semi-vigorous rootstock, producing a tree 3–4.5m (10–15ft) tall. It’s also suitable for espalier trees
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‘Quince C’ and ‘Quince Eline’ – semi-vigorous rootstocks, producing trees 2.5–3m (8–10ft) tall, suitable for smaller gardens, for training as cordons and small espaliers, and for growing in containers. The trees are slightly quicker to produce fruit than those grafted onto ‘Quince A’
What and where to buy
A pear tree is a long-term investment, so always buy from a reputable specialist nursery or garden centre. Fruit or tree nurseries will offer the widest choice of varieties. Pear trees are sold as young trees, ready for planting, in two forms:
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Bare-root trees – these are only available from late autumn to early spring, while dormant, for immediate planting, and are generally cheaper than trees in pots
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Containerised trees – these are available all year round and can be planted at any time, but autumn to early spring is preferable
If you want to grow a trained pear tree, such as an espalier or fan, decide if you want to train it yourself from scratch starting with a one-year-old tree (maiden). If so, choose a tree with several good shoots growing from the central stem (leader), then you can train and prune it into any of the popular tree forms if you wish – see Pruning and Training, below. Alternatively, buy a partially trained tree from a specialist nursery.
Recommended Varieties
Early variety Small, sweet yellow/green fruits, ready to pick in early September. Compact tree.
Mid-season variety Good crops of high-quality, melting-texture, russet-brown fruits.
Late variety Excellent flavour but needs a warm, sheltered site to perform best.
Planting
For a good crop, plant pear trees in a warm, sheltered spot that doesn't get late frosts or strong winds
Prepare your tree for planting by giving it a good watering if it’s in a container or by standing it in a bucket of water for half an hour if it’s a bare-root tree. If planting in a lawn, remove a circle of grass at least 1m (3¼ft) in diameter, so the tree’s roots don’t have to compete with the grass for rainwater and nutrients while they get established. If planting more than one, space trees 3–4.5m (10–15ft) apart if grafted on ‘Quince A’ rootstock and 2.5–3m (8–10ft) on ‘Quince C’ or ‘Quince Eline’ rootstock.
Pear trees are easy to plant and should settle in quickly – you’ll find lots of advice in our easy planting guides below.
Planting against a wall
With trees that will be trained against a wall, you need to prepare the planting site particularly well, as the soil at the base of walls is often poor and dry. Dig lots of well-rotted manure or garden compost into the entire area, then plant the tree at least 25–35cm (10–14in) from the base of the wall. You’ll also need to attach horizontal wires to the wall to support the branches – see Pruning and Training, below. If planting more than one, space them at least 3.6m (12ft) apart for espaliers and 60–90cm (2–3ft) apart for cordons.
Planting in a container
Pear trees grow best in the ground, but if you don’t have a suitable site, you can plant in a container instead. Choose a tree on a semi-dwarfing ‘Quince C’ or ‘Quince Eline’ rootstock, which will keep it compact. The container should be 45–50cm (18–20in) wide, and heavy and stable enough not to blow over in windy weather. Before adding the potting compost, move it to its final position – a warm, sheltered, sunny spot – as it will be very heavy once full. Use peat-free soil-based compost (John Innes No. 3 is ideal) or peat-free multi-purpose compost mixed with one-third by volume of grit, to improve drainage. See our video guide below for more tips.
Plant Care
Once established, pear trees need little maintenance, apart from watering in dry spells and feeding to boost fruiting.
Watering
Water newly planted trees regularly for at least their first growing season. Established pear trees rarely need watering, except in long dry spells when the fruit is starting to swell. Fruitlets may be shed if the tree goes short of water.
Trees in containers require generous watering throughout the growing season on an ongoing basis, as the potting compost will dry out quickly.
Mulching
Apply a thick layer of mulch, such as well-rotted manure or garden compost, around the base of pear trees every spring, to help hold moisture in the soil and suppress weeds.
Feeding
In early spring, apply a high potassium general fertiliser, such as Vitax Q4 or blood, fish and bonemeal. Scatter two handfuls per square metre/yard around pear trees growing in bare soil, and two and a half around those in grass.
Fruit thinning
Pear trees naturally shed excess young fruits in early summer, known as the June drop. But if your tree is still carrying a heavy crop by mid-summer, it can be beneficial to remove some of the overcrowded fruits. This may seem like a shame, but the fruits may not all develop or ripen well, and a large crop can put a strain on the tree, so it may fruit less well the following year. This can lead to a cycle of uneven fruiting known as biennial bearing. It’s easier to thin out fruits on smaller trained pear trees – with these, reduce the crop to one fruit every 10–12cm (4–5in). On free-standing pear trees, if you can reach the fruits, thin them to two every 10–12cm (4–5in).
Propagation
Pear trees are usually propagated by grafting or budding, which are quite skilled processes, but well worth a try. They can also be grown from seeds and cuttings, but it’s not generally worth doing – the resulting trees will grow much larger than those grafted onto a selected rootstock, will be slower to start fruiting and, in the case of seeds, the fruit eventually produced may be of poorer quality than the parent tree.
Pruning and Training
Pear trees should be pruned every year to ensure you get the best crop. Start pruning newly planted trees straight away. When and how to prune established trees depends on the type of tree:
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Free-standing pear trees should be pruned in winter, to keep them healthy, in good shape and to promote fruiting
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Trained pear trees should be pruned in late summer, to restrict their growth and improve fruiting
Pear trees can be trained into various shapes – to limit their size and the amount of space they take up, and to create an attractive feature. Trained trees are ideal for small plots and make harvesting the fruit easy. Pear trees are often pruned into the following shapes:
- Cordon – a single stem, usually at a 45 degree angle, with very short side branches that carry the fruit
- Fan – a short trunk with a fan of branches radiating out at the top
- Espalier – a central trunk with several tiers of horizontal branches on each side
- Stepover – a very short trunk with a low pair of horizontal branches on each side, to form a T-shape
If you have an old, overgrown pear tree, you can get it back into shape and improve fruiting by renovative pruning.
Harvesting
Unlike most fruit, pears should be harvested while still firm and not yet ripe
Pears benefit from storage or a period of ripening before you eat them – early varieties usually need a week or so until they become softer, while later ones can take months. Press gently, looking for a slight softness, especially around the stalk. Unripe pears should be stored in a cool dark place, such as a garage, on slatted trays or crates with good air circulation. Make sure the fruits are all separate. Then check them regularly for ripeness, so you can enjoy them at their best.
Problems
Pear trees are generally robust, hardy and easy to grow, producing a good crop. But weather conditions can affect cropping:
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Late frosts and spring storms – can damage blossom and deter pollinators, leading to fewer fruits. If a late frost is forecast when in blossom, cover smaller trained trees with fleece or hessian, or bring containerised plants indoors. Avoid planting trees in sites prone to late frosts. See our guide to protecting fruit from frost
- Lack of water – can cause young fruitlets to drop in summer, so water in any long dry spells while the fruits are forming
Pears can also be affected by various diseases and insects – see below.
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