Add flavor to your landscape by planting dwarf fruit trees.
By Lin Johnson
Pears are one of the easiest, hardiest, and productive of fruit trees. It can be tough finding space for them. Dwarf varieties can come to the rescue! Dwarfs are great for smaller spaces, but big on flavor and production.
Dwarf trees can be planted with 10’ to 15’ of space, can be kept to 10’ to 12′ in height, making it manageable to pick, prune and maintain.
- Planting pointers and 3 dwarf selections are as follows:
- Plant pears in fall, late winter or very early spring. At least two varieties for good cross pollination and fruit set should be planted. Most nurseries have charts indicating which trees are best for cross pollinating.
- Plant with the top of the ball slightly above the soil line.
- Dig the holes at least 4 to 6 inches larger than the planting container. Extra nutrients are not needed for good growth.
- Finish by planting the top of the center roots slightly above ground (an inch or so), helping the tree keep well drained at its core.
The well-known Bartlett pear produces juicy and sweet pears early on in their growing cycle and Golden Bartletts are a good choice for planting. Hardy in zones 4 through 8, they can bear fruit early in their third full year of growth.
Considered self-pollinators, they produce better with a partner, and Moonglow is recommended. It is also a great eating pear and hardy in zones 5 through 8, growing around 10’ in height. Spectacular bloom color in April to May and greenish-yellow fruit with a slightly red tint are also noteworthy.
A smaller pear, noted for juicy flavor and an excellent pollinator is the Seckel pear. It is referred to as the candy pear and grows to about 10 feet at maturity.
With this information, you can add perennial flavor to your landscape by planting dwarf fruit trees!
Advanced Garland County Master Gardener, Lin Johnson, volunteers with Garland County Master Gardeners of the UofA Div. of Agriculture, Cooperative Ext. Service. Master Gardeners pool skills and resources to improve home horticulture, stimulate interest in plants and gardening, and encourage beautification. For more information, call 501-623-6841 or email adykes@uaex.edu. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution.
