Asian pear
* Common name: Asian pear (sometimes called “apple pears” or Oriental pears)
An Asian pear tree espaliered along a brick wall.
* Botanical name: Pyrus pyrifolia
* What it is: This relatively small fruit tree is an Oriental relative of our common European pears, but it produces round, golden, baseball-sized fruits that look – and crunch – like apples. They ripen in early fall.
Asian pear is one of the easier fruit trees to grow at home, so long as you manage to sidestep the primary threat of a fatal fire-blight disease.
A few varieties (such as ‘Hinsui’) are self-fertile, but you’ll get more fruits by planting at least two trees. The first crops should bear fruit three to five years after planting.
Asian pears are seldom sold in garden centers, so you’ll probably need to order by catalog or online.
* Size: Most varieties grow 12 to 15 feet tall and wide in 15 to 20 years, although dwarf varieties are available that stay in the 8- to 10-foot range.
Asian pears look more like apples.
* Where to use: Best fruiting is in a full-sun location with good drainage. Trees flower in spring and are good-looking enough to use anywhere in the landscape, including the front yard.
Asian pears also can be espaliered up south- or west-facing walls or supports.
* Care: Plant in spring, and keep new trees consistently damp the first two seasons to establish the roots. Then soak every two or three weeks during hot, dry spells.
Scatter a balanced, organic, granular fertilizer over the surrounding bed early each spring.
Prune at the end of each winter to thin crossing branches and excess growth and to keep tree open enough for good air flow through the branches.
When fruits have reached the size of cherries by June, thin them to leave just one fruit per cluster. This gives you fewer but bigger fruits.
Unlike European pears, allow Asian pears to stay on the tree until they fully mature. Sample a few to determine when they’re fully sweet and perfectly crunchy (not too hard and not starting to turn soft from over-ripeness).
Asian pears are hardy enough that they don’t need any winter protection.
* Great partner: None. Just mulch the ground in a 6-foot diameter ring under trees. Asian pears make a good addition to any home orchard.