Description

Leaves: Leaves dark green, with a fall color of red to reddish-purple or orange to yellow; semi-glossy, hairless, attractive; simple; alternate; circular to egg-shaped, tapering to a point, rounded to somewhat heart-shaped, finely toothed and bristly; 2" to 4" in length and 1-1/2" to 2-1/2" in width; petiole 1" to 2-1/4" in length; deciduous.

Twigs/buds: Twigs yellowish-brown. Buds blackish-brown; alternate; 1/8" to 1/4" in length; scales overlapping.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers white, though sometimes pink while in the bud; 1-1/3" in diameter, 5-petalled; flat to rounded inflorescence; occurring in April-May. Fruit a pome; green-yellow, hard, almost ball-shaped, 1" to 1-1/2" in diameter, not ornamental; can be used for jams or jellies; eaten by deer.

Bark: Yellow-gray or yellow-brown with age.

Wood: Little information available.

General: Native to Korea, China, and Japan. Its habit is dense, rounded, and upright, reaching heights of 15' to 30'; it sometimes grows to 40' or 50'. Prefers full sun. Less susceptible to fireblight than other pears. Good in cold climates.

Landscape Use: An attractive, cold-hardy ornamental pear worth trying in Utah, with good white flowers, shiny dark green leaves, and red-purple fall color. The hardiest of the pears. Good as a specimen tree in parks and home landscapes. Used in screens and borders or in forming windbreaks for fields or farmsteads. Zones 3-7.

Cultivars: "McDermand', 'MorDak'.

Characteristics