If you're looking to cultivate pears in your Texas orchard, you're in luck! Pear trees are one of the easiest fruit trees to grow in the Lone Star State. European varieties such as Bartlett, Bosc, and D'Anjou are popular choices, while oriental varieties like Warren, Ayres, and Magness are renowned for their delicious flavor. Asian pears, also known as Pyrus pyrifolia, apple pears, Chinese pears, or sand pears, are becoming more common in Texas, but there is still not enough information to recommend them. Pear trees bloom early and are vulnerable to damage from spring frosts, particularly in low-lying areas like valleys and streams. The white flowers are abundant and blossom between the beginning and middle of the season.
The pears ripen between mid-July and August, followed by a vibrant autumn display of yellow, red, and orange foliage. Old specimens and neutral specimens tend to produce lower yields than spring ones and suffer from the Texas heat. Fire blight tolerance ranges from moderate to moderate for Asian pears, which have not adapted well to the Texas climate. To learn more about growing pears in Texas orchards, visit the Texas A&M viticulture and enology site.
