Pyrus | Pears are beautiful and delicious fruit trees that are worth considering for your client’s garden. However, they are the most pest-ridden of all fruit trees and require the most disease preventative maintenance to produce clean, appetizing fruit. Pear trees can grow quite large reaching 20′ with a similar spread at maturity. As a result, they require a spacing of at least 18-20′ apart. Pear trees also have a natural upright structure and need to be trained and pruned to develop a spreading growth habit. Many pears are tolerant of wet soil conditions but perform best in well-draining soil locations. And most pear varieties are self-sterile and require cross-pollination by another variety to get a good crop set. The popular “Bartlett” pear tree is self-fruitful and requires no partner tree for pollination. Bartlett also requires about 1500 hours of chill time below 45°F for producing fruit. Fire blight can be a serious problem in pears and preventive spray maintenance should be factored into choosing a pear for a Bay Area garden.