Plant · P-371

European Pear

Pyrus communis

European pear is a reliable warm-climate fruit tree once the right cultivar and rootstock are matched to the site - fire blight, not winter chill, is the real make-or-break factor, and resistant cultivars stay healthy where susceptible ones fail quickly. It needs two or more compatible varieties planted together for cross-pollination, and a named cultivar produces a proper dessert and canning fruit, unlike the wild species, whose fruit stays hard and is better cooked. Beyond the fruit, the wood is hard, heavy and fine-grained enough to work as an ebony substitute, and the leaves yield a yellow-tan dye.