Feature Tree - March 2003
Callery Flowering Pear 

(click here for Tree of the Month archives)

Common Name: Callery Flowering Pear

Scientific Name: Pyrus calleryana
Family:  Rosaceae

This Tree in Colorado: Best below 6000 ft. Callery Flowering pear has many attributes and few faults. After it is established, it is heat- and drought-tolerant. It fares well in urban conditions. There are several cultivars available.

Habit: Varies with cultivar, from oval to broadly pyramidal to columnar.

Size: Medium height, generally 40 feet or less; width varies with cultivar. 

Cultivars: 'Bradford' was the first cultivar used but develops structural problems with age. Hardier cultivars available locally include 'Aristocrat', 'Chanticleer' and 'Redspire'. 'Stone Hill' and 'Cleveland Select' are similar to 'Chanticleer', which has been rated highly in CSU trials.

Hardiness: Some cultivars zones 4-8, other cultivars zones 5-8.

Leaves: Simple, alternate; glossy dark green. Fall color varies from year to year and varies with cultivar, ranging from red to orange, yellow and purple. Fall color develops late; leaves are held into late November.

Flowers: Showy, white, approximately 1/2 inch diameter, appearing before and during leafing; pungent to malodorous.

Bark: Tan-brown when young, lightly ridged and grey-black-brown later.

Fruit: 1/2 inch diameter hard brown pome, russeted, not ornamental; may be taken by birds after fall frosts soften them. 

Growth Rate: Medium to fast.

Landscape Value: Provides 3 seasons of interest: spring flowers, glossy summer foliage and often-spectacular fall color. Tolerant of pollution, compacted soils, restricted rooting areas, drought and heat.

Diseases/Insects: Aphids on new growth in spring, hawthorn mealybugs; fireblight can be a problem on some cultivars.

Best Advice: It's probably best to avoid planting 'Bradford'. Use 'Chanticleer', 'Stone Hill' or 'Cleveland Select' as an upright screen or near west/south-facing sides of the house. 'Redspire' needs more room; use 'Aristocrat' as a shade tree in larger areas.

Information source:  Dirr, Michael A, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 5th Ed., 1998

Photos:  Robert Cox, James Feucht


As with all Feature Trees, considerable more information can be obtained by searching the web under the name, Callery Flowering Pear.