Pyrus communis 'Hood' ~ Hood Pear

Pyrus communis 'Hood' ~ Hood PearHood Pear is a fast growing deciduous tree with an upright habit and attractive spring flower display but primarily grown for its crop of large summer fruit. Clusters of fragrant of white flowers bloom in mid spring. The large yellow green fruits are firm with buttery smooth flesh. Grows best in full sun and rich, moist well drained soils. Hood is partially self pollinating so cross pollinating will increase yield, is highly resistant to fire blight,

Hood Pear is a fast-growing deciduous tree with an upright habit and attractive spring flower display but primarily grown for its crop of large summer fruit.  Clusters of fragrant of white flowers bloom in mid spring.  The large yellow-green fruits are firm with buttery smooth flesh.  Grows best in full sun and rich, moist well-drained soils. 

Hood is partially self-pollinating so cross-pollinating will increase yield, is highly resistant to fire blight, and has a low chill requirement of 100-200 hours.

MAINTENANCE NEEDS:  High Maintenance. Needs regular watering.  Pears are particularly prone to fire blight, especially after wet and warm springs.  Other issues include canker, powdery mildew, scab, and anthracnose.  Possible pests include pear psylla, coddling moth and borers.  Fallen fruit can be messy if not harvested.

 LANDSCAPE USES:  Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Wildlife Garden, Naturalized Areas, Ponds and Streams, Edible Gardens, and Containers.

COMPANION PLANTS: Thyme, Bee Balm, Corsican Mint 

IMAGES: Photoset by Forest and Kim Starr, (1) starr-140614-4541-Pyrus_communis-Hood_pear_fruit_and_leaves-Hawea_Pl_Olinda-Maui, (2) starr-170909-0067-Pyrus_communis-Hood_fruit-Hawea_Pl_Olinda-Maui, (3) starr-231125-0140-Pyrus_communis-mostly_Hood_fruit_ripening_up_after_wind_storm-Hawea_Pl_Olinda-Maui

* As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.