Anjou Pear

The Anjou Pear (Pyrus communis ‘Anjou’ - OHxF 87 rstock) is a small- to medium-sized flowering fruit tree. It has an attractive form with an oval crown and upright branches. In mid spring, a beautiful display of flowers opens up in clusters and covers the new-leafed branches. The creamy white petals and pleasant fragrance makes this quite the spring bloom. The handsome green leaves are ovate and pointed and turn a pleasant purple in autumn. Also in the fall is an abundance of medium to large, rounded to short-neck pears with green skin and white flesh appearing on the tree. The flavor of these fruits is absolutely delicious and they are ready for harvest starting in early fall.  

The Anjou Pear was first discovered in France before 1800. It is widely renowned for its buttery rich texture and sweet flavor. They are good for fresh eating, canning, and baking and are suitable for winter storage, their best flavor developing when stored 1-2 months. This tree should be pruned for maximum fruit production. It can be used as an accent tree, shade tree, and of course as a fruit tree in an orchard or on its own for smaller homesteads. Lacking self pollination, it needs a pollinating pear tree nearby (Bosc, Bartlett, or Moonglow pear works well). It is cold hardy, drought tolerant, and pollution tolerant while preferring full sun and well-drained soils.