While pear trees adorn many gardens, the decorative pear is often less in the spotlight. But these trees definitely deserve a place in more green and garden designs, because they take deep roots, are therefore strong and healthy, often have an excellent resistance to wind and are not very demanding on the soil they are planted in. In addition, most varieties surprise with a rich palette of autumn colours.
All those robust properties of the ornamental pear are definitely found in the Pyrus calleryana. This species includes a number of beautiful cultivars that often bloom abundantly white with numerous bundles of tufted flowers, which also makes them attractive to insects. Eventually, all ornamental pears also form fruits, but these are often small and insignificant. Because they catch on so successfully, they can be planted in ornamental gardens and parks as well as in all kinds of urban areas.
Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer' is the best known cultivar and is perhaps also the most versatile. It grows to 8 - 12 meters and gets a somewhat narrow conical, sometimes also ovoid crown. In its natural form it can branch low, but it is also easy to prune it up into a beautiful standard avenue tree that will not look out of place in the street scene. Especially the white clouds of blossom that appear around April, make the tree a real eye-catcher. After that the baton is passed to the beautiful autumn colouring in red and yellow tones. With mild winters, the leaves also stick around quite long, which increases the ornamental value.
When in flower, Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford' is almost identical to 'Chanticleer', but in the course of the years the crown of this ornamental pear fans out more. It then takes up a little more room in width, which can make it more attractive for solitary planting. Just like other ornamental pears it can stand up very well to air pollution. The autumn colour is purplish and this tree likes to be more sheltered because it is less hardy than 'Chanticleer'.
Pyrus calleryana 'Aristocrat' (13-15m) is significantly higher and wider and its crown is more upright and pyramidal. This ornamental pear has deep green leaves that turn a beautiful red to purple in the autumn. This ornamental pear also knows how to usher in the spring with profuse corymbs of white flowers that attract many bees and other insects. It grows faster than 'Chanticleer' and 'Bradford'.
Pyrus calleryana 'Redspire' is lower and again narrower in crown. This compactly growing ornamental pear also distinguishes itself from the other cultivars by forming somewhat larger flowers. As with the other Pyrus calleryana's, this one also has a beautiful autumnal silhouette and the leaves remain on for a long time. It will grow best in neutral to somewhat calcareous soil and also has little trouble with hard surfaces. Therefore this tree can also flank narrow streets and squares very well.
If the space to be planted is not large, one can also choose Pyrus calleryana 'Capital', which grows narrow and upright. This ornamental pear will therefore be no more than 3 metres wide. The autumnal colour is dark purple-red and the tree only produces small fruits. This, in combination with its compact width, makes it an excellent choice for narrow borders and streets.
An attractive ornamental pear is also the Pyrus nivalis (6-10m). This medium-sized, elegant tree is also called 'Snow Pear' because it is overloaded with numerous white flowers in spring. The somewhat rounded crown is loosely structured and this can give a somewhat airier character to a garden or border. Also striking is the leaf, which turns woolly and almost silvery-white when it unfurls and becomes greener and more glossy towards the end of the summer. The dark-coloured trunk and branches provide a nice contrast. After flowering, yellow-green palm-sized fruits appear, but they are tart in taste. A very beautiful tree that can be pruned reasonably well, but it prefers a sunny spot.
Perhaps the Pyrus salicifolia 'Pendula' is the most extraordinary ornamental pear of the list. It is an almost Mediterranean-looking tree because of its silvery, willowy leaves. As a result, in appearance it is almost inferior to the well-known olive tree which is almost an integral part of many modern gardens. In fact, the Pyrus salicifolia even surpasses it in appearance because it effortlessly withstands our winters and has absolutely no problem with a windy location. To curb its natural weeping form, this tree can also be pruned quite well. The multi-stemmed varieties are nice for planting and can also be placed in a container or on a roof garden.
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