| Name |
Prunus
- Pyrus Calleryana - Ornamental Pear |
| Cultivation |
Light:
Best in full sun.
Moisture: Needs regular watering at first; established trees are fairly
drought tolerant. |
| Family |
Rosaceae |
| Genus |
Pyrus
Species: calleryana |
| Synonyms |
Pyrus
Calleryana Chanticleer, Callery Pear, Bradford Pear, Ornamental
Pear |
| Known
Hazards |
None
Known |
| Range |
Callery
pear was originally from China. It was brought to the US to use in breeding
programs in an attempt to introduce fire blight resistance into edible pears.
This never happened, but several ornamental selections were produced. Callery
pear has escaped cultivation in parts of the South, including Panhandle
Florida, and seedlings sometimes form dense monocultures that exclude native
species. |
| Height |
Most cultivars will reach 30-50 ft in height. |
| Habitat |
Light:
Best in full sun.
Moisture: Needs regular watering at first; established trees are fairly
drought tolerant. |
| Characteristics |
'Bradford'
pear is hard to beat for early spring flowers and spectacular autumn color.
It is tolerant of urban conditions, pollution and poor soils. It can be
transplanted at any size. It grows fast. For a quick screen or ornamental
tree along a driveway, in a parking lot, or along a street, 'Bradford'
pear is a good (if not original) choice. It's like having two landscape
trees in one: Callery pear is a spectacularly showy tree in spring when
it is covered with clusters of white flowers and again in autumn when
its leaves turn bright yellow, mahogany and red. This is a pear tree grown
for its flowers and fall foliage, and not for an edible fruit. The deciduous
leaves are oval, 2-3 in long, leathery and lustrous green, turning shades
of yellow, orange, purple and red in fall. They persist on the tree into
early winter after most deciduous trees have shed their leaves. The flowers
are about 1 in across and arranged in clusters of a dozen or so, each
cluster about 3 in across. They appear before and with the leaves in early
spring, and completely cover the tree so that all you see is white. The
flowers are not pleasantly scented and the pollen is bothersome to those
with allergies. Some callery pear cultivars are very thorny, and some
are prone to break at their narrow branch angles. |
| Edible
Uses |
The
fruits are spherical brown pomes about 0.5 in in diameter. They are neither
ornamental nor edible. |
| Medicinal
Uses |
None
Known |
| Other
Uses |
The
several cultivars of Callery pear are used as urban and street trees and
planted extensively along driveways. 'Bradford', especially, has become
an extremely popular landscape tree since its introduction in 1963. It is
tolerant of most soil types, air pollution, and drought. 'Bradford' pear
is fast-growing, easy to transplant and easy to maintain. Unfortunately,
'Bradford' has a tendency to split at its tight branch junctures, and trees
more than 15 or 20 years old often fall apart as the main branches break
off. 'Bradford' pears must be replaced after 15 or 20 years. |
| Propagation |
Seedlings
are invariably thorny and develop into ragged, irregular trees. Named cultivars
are propagated from tip cuttings or grafted onto seedlings of the species. |
| Cultivars |
Cultivar:
'Chanticleer' - There are a couple dozen named cultivars. 'Bradford' is
the most popular; it has a very symmetrical, conical shape with dense, thornless
branches, and dependable autumn color. 'Chanticleer' is even more narrowly
pyramidal than 'Bradford' and has less tendency to break branches than some
of the other cultivars. 'Korean Sun' is compact and rounded, to only 12
or 15' tall. 'Autumn Blaze' has thorns and develops reddish purple leaves
in fall. 'Aristocrat' is thornless and has branches that are more horizontal
than most. |