Bartlett pear

Sun

Full sun, ideally at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily; shelter from strong winds.

Water

Water deeply during dry spells, especially during establishment and while fruit is swelling. Keep soil moist but not waterlogged.

Soil

Deep, fertile, well-drained loam is ideal; tolerates heavier soil if drainage is sound. Slightly acidic to neutral soil is best.

Height

20-30 ft (6-9 m) on vigorous rootstock; about 8-15 ft (2.4-4.6 m) on dwarfing rootstock.

Spread

15-20 ft (4.6-6 m) on vigorous rootstock; about 6-12 ft (1.8-3.7 m) on dwarfing rootstock.

Flowers

White flowers in mid-spring; frost can damage the blossom.

Foliage

Glossy, oval green leaves, often turning yellow in autumn.

Growth

Moderate; varies with rootstock, soil and pruning.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.3 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.6 m)

4. After 3 years

   9 ft (2.8 m)

5. After 5 years

   11 ft (3.4 m)

About 20 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Moderate

• Plant with the graft union above soil level; water deeply through the first two growing seasons.
• Mulch with compost or bark, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Stake young trees as needed; some dwarfing rootstocks need permanent support.
• Feed modestly in spring only if growth is weak; excess nitrogen encourages soft growth and fire blight.
• Thin crowded fruitlets after the natural early-summer drop, leaving roughly 6 in (15 cm) between fruit.
• Provide a compatible pear such as Bosc, Comice or Conference with overlapping blossom; Bartlett and Williams are the same cultivar, not pollination partners.

Pruning. Prune established free-standing trees lightly in late winter, removing dead, damaged and crossing branches while retaining fruiting spurs and an open framework. Summer-prune trained forms to maintain their shape, and avoid heavy pruning that produces vigorous upright shoots.

Pick in late summer or early autumn while pears are still firm and green to pale green, when a gentle upward tilt releases the stalk from the branch. Ripen indoors at room temperature until the skin yellows and the flesh near the stalk yields slightly; fruit left to ripen fully on the tree can become mealy inside.

Late autumn

Plant dormant trees where soil is workable and not waterlogged; in very cold regions, wait until spring.

Late winter

Prune free-standing trees lightly and check stakes and ties.

Spring

Refresh mulch, water during dry weather and protect accessible blossom from forecast frost.

Early summer

Thin crowded fruitlets and inspect new shoots for fire blight.

Summer

Water during dry spells and summer-prune espalier or cordon growth.

Late summer to early autumn

Test fruit regularly for picking maturity and harvest before it softens on the tree.

Autumn

Collect fallen fruit and diseased leaves to reduce pest and disease carryover.

• Use as a productive focal tree in a sunny lawn or edible garden, allowing room for its rootstock's mature size.
• Train as an espalier along a sunny fence or wall to define a kitchen garden.
• Plant with compatible pears in a small orchard for blossom and a longer harvest season.
• Underplant outside the trunk's mulched circle with low flowers that support pollinating insects.

Garden styles it suits: Backyard orchard, Edible landscape, Potager (kitchen garden), Cottage garden, Homestead and Traditional.

Plant it with: Bosc pear, Comice pear, Conference pear, Chives, Yarrow and Sweet alyssum.

Wildlife: Flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees and other insects. Fallen fruit attracts birds, mammals and wasps; collect it promptly where these become troublesome.

• Fire blight: blackened blossom and hooked, dying shoots need prompt attention. Cut infected growth back well into healthy wood in dry weather, disinfect tools between cuts and avoid excess nitrogen.
• Pear scab: remove fallen infected leaves, maintain airflow and choose locally approved treatments if repeated infections damage fruit.
• Codling moth: larvae tunnel into pears. Remove damaged fruit promptly and use monitoring traps and locally recommended control timing.
• Poor fruit set: provide a compatible flowering pear, avoid insecticides during bloom and protect small trees from blossom frost where practical.

Ripe flesh is not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. Seeds contain cyanogenic compounds and should not be deliberately chewed or fed in quantity; a few accidentally swallowed whole seeds are unlikely to cause poisoning. Remove cores before offering fruit to pets, and keep horses away from large quantities of windfalls because overeating can cause digestive illness.

• Bosc pear (Pyrus communis 'Bosc')

  Fruit usually has a longer, narrower neck and extensive cinnamon-brown russeting rather than Bartlett's smoother green-to-yellow skin.

• Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia)

  Most have rounder fruit with crisp flesh that is allowed to ripen on the tree, unlike Bartlett's soft, melting flesh after indoor ripening.

• Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana)

  Produces small, hard, marble-sized fruit rather than large edible pears; it is an invasive ornamental tree in many parts of the United States.

Known in Britain as Williams' Bon Chrétien, the cultivar became Bartlett in North America after nurseryman Enoch Bartlett distributed it under his own name.

Propagation. Propagate by budding or grafting onto a suitable pear rootstock; seedlings will not come true. Bartlett can be incompatible with some quince rootstocks and may require a compatible interstem, so buy trees with a stated rootstock and expected mature size.

Accepted botanical name

Pyrus communis

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Rus, Corse, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, East Aegean Is. and East European Russia.

Measured

Soil pH 5.2 to 6.7. Average height 750 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.