Pitfalls with pears

My wife and I were out running errands last Friday as the clouds were welling up in the west. It hadn’t really rained yet, but the forecast called for imminent storms. I wasn’t sure we had time to turn around for photos when I saw two pear trees in trouble. However, I decided the photo opportunities might not be there on our way home – especially with one. Let me share these two trees, less than one block apart, with you in the hopes they could save you disappointment at some point in the future.

Brittle wood of the ornamental pears…
When Bradford pears were introduced into the American nursery trade in the early 1960s, we thought we had a superior small landscape tree. Beautiful spring flowers. Symmetrical shape. Lovely dark green foliage that turns gorgeous shades in the fall.

But within 25 years we found we had a monster. Because of its very narrow branch angles, Bradford and the other ornamental pears do not form strong branch unions. Bark, debris, and moisture get trapped between the enlarging branches, and within a few years the trunks begin to split apart and fall to the ground. It’s not a matter of “if,” but a matter of “when.” Usually “when” happens within the first 25 years after planting.

The sad part is that the splitting doesn’t just take one or two branches out of the picture. It destroys the tree’s symmetry so that it never again can be a constructive contributor to your landscape’s beauty. And those branches may come down on top of a car or house roof.

Sadly, the bad news doesn’t stop there. Root sprouts pop up everywhere, and they are of the rootstock, Callery pear, and that cultivar bears viable seed in its small fruit. Before you know it, you have pear seedlings coming up in creeks and other places where moisture is ample. The problem of invasion can become so bad that some cities and even entire states have outlawed the planting of Bradford pears entirely.

The best thing you can do is to avoid ornamental pears in your landscaping. If you already have one, watch it very closely for any signs of trunk deterioration. Little Gem southern magnolias are far better alternatives with much better reputations.

Fire blight of pears…
If you see a member of the Rose family of plants that has had a sudden dieback of the tips of its branches, that could very well be fire blight. Pears are at the top of that list.

Fire blight is a bacterial infection that leaves the tip ends of branches, flowers, leaves, even fruit looking like it’s been scorched by a blow torch. You’ll see blackened leaves that appear suddenly, dark, shriveled fruit, discolored bark often looking like it’s been blasted at the point of infection, and dead branches from a few inches to several feet long. You’ll notice that the tip ends of the dead branches will be hooked, and you may see an amber-colored ooze on the wood.

Fire blight is often fatal to pear trees, especially to types of the highest eating quality. Pears that are firm at maturity (lower quality for fresh eating) have a higher number of grit cells, and there seems to be a correlation between the number of grit cells and a variety’s ability to fight off fire blight. The more grit cells it has, the more resistant it will be.

Coping with fire blight…
Start with resistant varieties. All pears will be susceptible to some degree, but some less so than others. For most of the state the best varieties are Orient, Moonglow, and the long-proven (but hard!) Kieffer.

Copper fungicides applied late in the dormant season can help reduce the incidence of fire blight. Read instructions carefully before spraying.

Avoid heavy pruning, also high-nitrogen fertilizers. Both will stimulate rapid new growth of your pear trees, and that new growth will be more susceptible to the bacterium.

Prune out any fire blight that does appear. Cut 8 to 12 inches below the infected wood. Remove all the diseased wood and either burn it or send it to the landfill. Disinfect your pruning tools with a 10 percent bleach solution immediately after pruning, then dry and oil the tools to keep them from rusting.

Want to learn more about improved fruiting pears in Texas? Here’s a comprehensive bulletin from Texas A&M.