The good and bad about ornamental pear in the desert.
I get questions very, very often about which plants I recommend. I am sorry. But I really hate that question. Half of the answer involves will it grow here and how difficult is it to grow AND the other half is the homeowners personal preference. I have no problem with the first part. It is the second part that is really difficult for me to get a handle on. Because it is a personal question.
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| Ornamental or Callery pear. |
The Good. Ornamental pear, sometimes called Callery pear, has been around in several different forms for a long, long time. I have been watching them here in Las Vegas for nearly 30 years in different locations and surprising to me they really handle alot of adversity. They can handle rock landscapes, droughty conditions, poor soils, lawns and has few pest problems, unlike in some other places. It is a good choice as a street tree and parks.
The Bad. I would not recommend it for home landscapes unless you have a fairly big landscape area and it is probably best if you have a two-story home, not a single-level in terms of size. It can get a bit big if well cared for, 40 feet in our desert. Although I have to admit I have not seen one get that tall here.
It is not low in water use. Just like any other fruit tree its water use will be moderately high and increases proportionately as it gets bigger. It will perform better in soils improved with compost and covered in wood mulch rather than rock mulch. It can get a some fireblight (bacterial disease) some seasons if it is raining at the time of bloom (February here). It does produce fruit but it is so small it is mostly inconspicuous but can cause some litter under the tree.
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| Winter form of ornamental pear in rock landsxcape with minimal care. In my opinion it has been limbed up too high. I would have liked to see it with more branches lower on the trunk with at least half of its height in canopy. |
The Ugly. Like most pears, its growth is somewhat upright and tends to get narrow crotch angles which can be improved with proper pruning and limb spreaders. I don’t care for its winter look all that much. Some will disagree with me but the trunk is not all that pretty and its form is just okay in my opinion. It can get iron chlorosis (yellowing of new growth) in some places but can be corrected using iron chelates containing EDDHA.
I would recommend it but don’t put it in a small yard and be aware that this is not a low water use plant.