Side by side
Nashi pear or pear? How to tell them apart
Pyrus pyrifolia · Pyrus communis
You can tell a nashi pear by its glossy, long-pointed leaves with bristle-like teeth and its round, apple-shaped pears that ripen on the tree and stay crisp; a pear has finely scalloped, roundish leaves and pear-shaped fruit that softens after picking.
Look at the fruit: round like an apple, yellowish-brown with pale speckles or greenish-yellow on the nashi pear, pear-shaped on the pear. The nashi leaf is larger (7–12 cm), long-pointed and sharply toothed with bristle-like teeth; the pear leaf is smaller (3–8 cm), round to oval and finely scalloped. Both flower white in April, together with the leaves.
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| Nashi pear | Pear | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, ovate, 7–12 cm, long-pointed, sharply toothed with bristle-tipped teeth, glossy; fine red autumn colour. | Alternate, round to oval with a pointed tip, 3–8 cm, finely toothed and glossy; long leaf stalk. |
| Flowering | White flowers (3 cm) in clusters, April, with the leaves (April). | White flowers with red anthers in April, a little earlier than apple (April). |
| Fruit | Round, yellowish-brown (with pale speckles) or greenish-yellow pears (6–10 cm), crisp and very juicy, August–September. | Pears. |
| Bark | Greyish-brown, later cracked into small blocks. | Dark grey, cracked into small square blocks. |
| Shape and height | Fruit tree, 4–8 m | Fruit tree, 4–15 m |
| Site | Full sun, any garden soil, normal | Full sun, any garden soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | No, planted | No, naturalised |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | – | Yes, for bees and birds |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | July–August and December–March | July–August and December–March |
The best feature in each season
- Spring
- Both flower in April with white flowers in clusters; the pear has striking red anthers. They flower at about the same time and can pollinate each other.
- Summer
- The nashi pear ripens on the tree in August–September: you pick it ripe, crisp and very juicy. Pears are picked from August to October depending on the variety, often still hard, and then left to ripen.
- Autumn
- The nashi pear takes on a beautiful red autumn colour. The pear leaf stays smaller and rounder, with a long stalk.
- Winter
- Without leaves they look very alike: both have grey-brown bark that cracks into small squares. The pear has steeply rising branches and a narrow, tall crown.
Where do they grow?
After the apple, the pear is the best-known fruit tree in our gardens, as a bush, half-standard, standard or espalier. The nashi or Asian pear comes from East Asia and is increasingly planted in gardens here.
Which one for your garden?
- With a crown of about 4 m, the nashi pear stays small enough for an ordinary garden; so does a pear on quince rootstock, and as an espalier it even fits against a wall. Most varieties of both need a pollinator nearby.
- Both are hosts of fireblight: do not plant hawthorn, cotoneaster, firethorn or snowy mespilus right next to the tree, nor ornamental juniper near the pear, because of pear rust.
Did you know? Nashi simply means ‘pear’ in Japanese: our pear is called yōnashi there, ‘Western pear’.
Read on
- Plant profile: Nashi pear
- Plant profile: Pear
- Nashi pear: when and how to prune
- Pear: when and how to prune
- Identification key