Pear blossoms have a short season and the small amount of nectar produced is not attractive to bees. Twice as many bees should be available to pears than for other fruits. Move bees into the pear orchard when the trees are in one-third bloom.
Although Anjou and Bartlett are partially self-fruitful, they should be cross-pollinated to produce heavy and regular crops. Bartlett, Comice and Hardy may set large crops of parthenocarpic fruit. European and Asian pears will cross-pollinate if blooming at the same time.
European Pears
Pear Fruiting Variety |
Compatible Pollinizer |
| Anjou | Bartlett, Bosc, Comice, Anjou*, Seckel |
| Bartlett | Anjou, Bosc, Comice |
| Bosc | Anjou, Bartlett, Comice, Seckel |
| Comice | Anjou, Bartlett, Bosc, Seckel |
| Seckel | Bosc, Comice, Bartlett |
Asian Pears
Asian Pear Fruiting Variety |
Compatible Pollinizer |
| Chojuro | Shinseike, Bartlett |
| Nijisseiki (20th Century) | Chojuro, Shinseike, Bartlett |
| Hosui | Partially self-fruitful; any other pear in same bloom time OK. |
| Shinseike | Chojuro |
Resources
- Orange Pippin Fruit Trees – website has a fruit tree pollination compatibility checker tool and several other useful online tools (Accessed: 1/19/17).
- Raintree Nursery – website has nice European pear compatibility chart (Accessed: 1/19/17).