Asian Pear Pyrus pyrifolia 'Niitaka'

Planting Advice for your Niitaka Pear:

• Shrub roots generally tend to spread out rather than down, so dig a planting hole 3 x wider than the roots of the tree and mix some well-rotted compost or manure with the soil from the hole and use this to re-fill once the pear is in place.
• We've found that a square hole is better than a round one as the new roots, once they reach the edges tend to grow in a circle round the circumference of the hole whereas when they reach the corners of a square hole, they find it easier to grow through.
• Before planting soak container-grown trees thoroughly and allow to drain.
• Remove the plant from its pot and tease out a few of the roots.
• Add Mycorrhizal fungi to the roots when planting to help plants establish quicker.
• Place your pear in the hole at the same level at the pot.
• Refill the hole with the earth removed (backfilling).
• Firm in the soil with your heel, avoiding the root ball and  water well.
• Mulch around the base of the plant with a collar, compost, gravel, bark etc.

Aftercare Advice for your Japanese Pear:

• Keep the trees moist; water deeply each week if there is little rain.
• Asian pears should be planted in the full sun. They are very early blooming so choose a sheltered area away from late frosts or cold snaps.
• When pears separtate easily from the tree, they are ripe - handle carefully as they are prone to bruising.

Pruning Advice for Japanese Pear Niitaka:

• In later winter prune to remove any branches that are dead, diseased or damaged. Aim for an open-centred, goblet-shaped tree to allow light in to ripen the fruit.
• Clip out all but two or three of the biggest green fruits in every cluster.