D'Anjou Pear Tree

For the classic taste of a European pear, you can’t beat the Anjou Pear Tree, which originally came from France or Belgium in the 19th century. The pears are large, about 8 oz each, with the perfect ‘pear-shape’, and a green skin faintly mottled with brown spots. It doesn’t change color when ripe, so check for softness just below the stalk – it should be ripe around the end of August, and, amazingly, it can be picked a little earlier, while still hard, and stored in a cool place for up to 7 months. The flesh is tender and fine-textured, not coarse as some pears are, with a delicious sweetness and ‘pear’ fragrance, perfect for eating fresh, in salads, or for baking. In spring your tree will produce a pretty display of white blossoms on the bare branches. This tree is somewhat self-fertile, and will usually produce some fruit if grown by itself. However you get a larger crop with a different variety nearby – the Bartlett Pear is a good match. Growing to around 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide, plant it out on a lawn as a specimen tree – it’s handsome enough for that – or grow it in your home orchard. It can also be trained against a south or west wall as an espalier, which is ideal in zone 5, as the warmth and sun ripens the fruit well, for maximum sweetness.

• A classic variety, with fine-textured flesh and delicious sweetness
• Pale green to yellow skin with faint spots
• Ripens at the end of August and stores for up to 7 months
• Beautiful white flowers on bare branches in spring
• Self-fertile, but grow with another suitable variety for a big crop

Plant your Anjou Pear Tree in a sunny spot, in rich, well-drained soil, preferably neutral to slightly acidic. Use rich compost to improve the soil, and use more for mulch to keep feeding your tree and keep the soil moist. In zone 5 choose a sheltered location, or grow on a south or west-facing wall. Prune in summer, not spring, as the dangerous disease fire blight can be spread to cuts by spring rains. Create the shape you want – pears can be grown in various shapes – and begin training your tree while it is young. Thin out the clusters of pears to just one or two per cluster, or the fruit will be small. Netting may be needed for a few weeks while the pears are ripening, to protect from birds.