Wild pear

Wild pear: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Tree of 8–20 m with a narrow crown about 6 m across; short shoots with thorny tips.

Leaves

Alternate, 2–7 cm, round to oval, finely scalloped or almost untoothed, glossy and hairless; the leaf stalk is about as long as the blade.

Bark

Dark grey to blackish, cracked into small square blocks; short shoots with thorny tips.

Flowers

White flowers with purplish-red anthers, in April, before or with the leaves.

Fruit

Round to pear-shaped fruits 1.5–3.5 cm long, yellowish-brown, hard and astringent, with grit cells; edible only once bletted.

Difference from pear

The cultivated pear has large, sweet pears and twigs without thorns.

Difference from crab apple

The crab apple has a dull leaf on a shorter stalk, sour apples without grit cells, and flowers with yellow anthers.

Flowering: April–May · Harvest and fruit: September–November · Pruning: November–March

Identify by feature: White blossom · Thorns or prickles

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Pear Pyrus communis: large, sweet pears and twigs without thorns. Difference from pear
• Crab apple Malus sylvestris: dull leaf on a shorter stalk, sour apples without grit cells, and flowers with yellow anthers. Difference from crab apple

Why grow it?

• A very rare native tree: planting a wild pear gives it a helping hand.
• Early blossom in April for bees.
• The little fruits feed birds and mammals.
• A narrow crown: despite its height it takes up little room sideways.
• Fine, hard, pinkish wood for turning and instruments.

Wild pear: where does it grow best?

• Full sun; in shade it flowers and fruits poorly.
• Ordinary garden soil, sand, loam or clay, not too wet.
• Allow for 8–20 m in height and a crown of about 6 m: for a large garden, a hedgerow or a meadow.
• Not near an ornamental juniper (pear rust) or a walnut (juglone).

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

12 m tall, 6 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Pear: Flowers at the same time and can help pollinate pear varieties nearby.
• Blackthorn: A thorny native shrub that thickens up the hedgerow around the wild pear.
• Field maple: A native tree or hedge for the same hedgerow, with yellow autumn colour.
• Wild privet: A native shrub with white flowers in June and black berries, for the edge.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Best kept away from

• Walnut releases juglone, to which this plant is sensitive: walnut
• Passes on pear rust (alternate host): ornamental juniper
• Fruit trees that can catch fireblight from this plant: apple, pear, nashi pear

Wild pear: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March when the ground isn’t frozen.
2. Ask for planting stock of native origin: many ‘wild pears’ are cultivated pears gone wild or crossed.
3. Plant a young tree: wild pears develop a deep taproot and transplant poorly once they are bigger.
4. Protect the trunk from rabbits and deer, and water after planting and during dry spells in the first summers.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first few years; after that its deep roots see it through.

Feeding

Not needed.

Thorns

Wear gloves when pruning and picking.

Fruits

Leave them for the animals, or pick them in autumn and let them blet indoors.

Tip: After picking, leave the hard little pears for a few weeks until they turn brown and soft (bletted): they then become sweeter and you can eat them or cook them into a purée.

Wild pear: when to prune it?

Pruning months: November–March.

When: Dead, diseased and broken branches can be removed at any time of year. If pruning is needed, do it during winter dormancy (November–March).

How:

• Little pruning needed: leave the narrow, natural crown.
• On a young tree, remove double leaders and crossing branches. Wear gloves because of the thorns.

Caution: If you see fire blight, cut well into healthy wood in dry weather and disinfect your secateurs after every cut.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

In autumn, take the seeds from ripe fruits and sow them outdoors in a seed tray: they need winter cold to germinate. If cultivated pears grow nearby, the seedling may be a hybrid.

Wild pear: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy.
• In winter you can recognise it by its dark bark cracked into small blocks and its thorny short shoots.

Diseases and pests

• Fire blight: Flowers and twigs wilt and turn black as if scorched, with a bent-over tip. Cut out affected branches well into healthy wood and disinfect your secateurs.
• Pear rust: Orange spots on the leaves, with small warty growths underneath. The fungus overwinters on ornamental junipers: don’t plant them nearby.
• Pear scab: Dark spots on leaves and fruits. Clear away fallen leaves.
• Browsing: Deer and rabbits gnaw young trees: protect the trunk.

Through the year

• January: Prune if needed.
• February: Pruning; planting season when there is no frost.
• March: Last month for pruning and planting.
• April: White blossom with purplish-red anthers: bees.
• May: Watch for fire blight in warm, damp weather.
• August: Check the leaves for pear rust.
• October: Fruits ripe: leave them for the animals or let them blet.
• November: Planting season; pruning can start again.
• December: Prune if needed.

What can you use it for?

Wood

Fine, hard, pinkish wood for turning, instruments and woodcuts.

For wildlife

Early blossom for bees; the little fruits feed birds and mammals.

Garden and landscape

Rare native tree for hedgerows and wildlife gardens.

Caution: Host of fire blight and susceptible to pear rust.

Edible and useful

Fruit (September–November)

Pick or gather the pears from mid-September to mid-November, when they are yellow-brown and come away easily or fall by themselves. They are small, hard and astringent, with plenty of stone cells (gritty flesh). Raw, they are only worth eating once they are bletted: leave them to ripen for a few weeks in a crate in a cool, dry place until the flesh is soft and brown. For stews, chutney and jelly you can use them hard and cook them for a long time. Leave some fruit on the tree for birds and mammals. Watch out for the thorny twigs.

Storing

Hard pears keep for a few weeks in a single layer in a cool, dark, dry place: they soften and blet by themselves. Bletted pears do not keep long, so use them quickly. Dried pears keep for a year in a closed jar. Stewed pears can be frozen.

Caution: Eat the pears raw only when they are completely bletted: hard, they are so astringent and gritty that they are almost inedible. Do not chew the pips: pear and apple pips contain amygdalin. Throw away rotten, mouldy or maggoty fruit. People who are allergic to pears (or to birch pollen) may react to the raw fruit. The wild pear is rare in Flanders: do not pick in nature reserves and leave most of the fruit for wildlife. Do not confuse it with ornamental pears or trees planted along roads and in parks, which are often treated, and do not pick beside busy roads or in sprayed orchards. The twigs carry thorns: take care when picking. Never eat anything you have not identified with certainty.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Wild pears stewed in red wine (Compote · 4 servings · 1 hr)
• Wild pear chutney (Other · ± 4 jars of 250 ml · 1 hr 15 min)
• Dried wild pears (Dried · ± 200 g · 30 min + 8–12 hrs drying)
• Wild pear jelly with jam sugar (Jelly · ± 3 jars of 250 ml · 1 hr + 1 night draining)

Did you know?

• Pear wood is fine, hard and does not warp: it was once the classic wood for drawing instruments, woodcuts and recorders.
• Grit cells are the hard little grains you can also taste in some cultivated pears; the wild pear is full of them.