Pyrus CALLERYANA 'BRADFORD'

Pyrus CALLERYANA 'BRADFORD' - Callery pear 'Bradford', Bradford pear, Ornamental pear, Callery Pear.

Pear (Pyrus) is a genus in the family Rosaceae, comprising several dozen species of trees and shrubs. They grow in the temperate zone of Eurasia, from Western Europe and North Africa to Japan.

The trees are deciduous, with a rounded or pyramidal crown, alternate simple leaves, and white five-petaled flowers in corymbose inflorescences. The fruit is a pome, juicy and large in cultivated species, and small and hard in wild ones.

Callery pear originates from China and Vietnam and is considered an ornamental rather than a fruiting species: its fruits are small, up to 1 cm (0.4 in), hard, and inedible.

Callery pear 'Bradford' is a tree reaching a height of 8-12 m (26-39 ft) with a dense, regular, ovate crown. It is the most famous ornamental pear cultivar in the world.

The leaves are round-ovate, thick, glossy, dark green, turning crimson, purple, and orange in autumn, and remain on the tree for a very long time until late fall. Flowering is profuse in April and May before the leaves unfurl: the crown is completely blanketed in white flowers. The cultivar is virtually thornless, distinguishing it from the wild form.

Pear seeds are small, dark brown, and have deep dormancy. They are extracted from the fruits, washed, and soaked for 12-24 hours in warm water or in a solution of growth stimulants: SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminozol, Epin, or Zircon. Stratification is mandatory: 2-3 months in moist sand at 2-5 °C (36-41 °F).

The simplest method is to sow seeds before winter directly into open ground to a depth of 2-3 cm (0.8-1.2 in): stratification then occurs naturally. When sowing in pots, a loose substrate of peat and sand is used.

Seedlings emerge in spring, 3-6 weeks after the onset of warmth. The crops are kept evenly moist and shaded during the first weeks. Seedlings grow rapidly; they are planted out in a permanent location in their second year. Cultivar characteristics segregate during seed propagation, which is why seedlings are typically used as rootstock.

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The plant requires an open sunny location; in shade, the crown thins out and autumn coloration weakens.

The species is winter-hardy, withstanding mid-latitude frosts without shelter. It is beneficial to mulch young plantings during their first winter.

Watering is moderate; during drought, it is mandatory for young trees. Mature specimens are drought-tolerant.

Almost any substrate is suitable: Callery pear tolerates poor, compacted, and calcareous soils, provided there is no prolonged stagnation of water.

Complete fertilizer is applied in spring before growth begins. A mature tree practically does not require fertilization.

Formative pruning is carried out in early spring and is essential for this cultivar: due to narrow branch crotch angles, the crown is thinned out, retaining scaffold branches with wider angles - otherwise the mature tree breaks under snow and wind.