Asian Pear / Nashi Pear

Plant family

Rose family (Rosaceae)

Cultivation Break

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Moist

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

Medium

Dark germinator

Germination temperature

10 - 15 °C (Degrees Celsius)

Plant distance

4 cm

Row spacing

5 cm

Seeding depth

3 cm

Instructions

Description

Nashi pear is part of the rose family (Rosaceae) and the subfamily Pyrinae. It belongs to the genus Pyrus and forms its own species: the Nashi pear (Pyrus pyrifolia), also known as the Japanese pear or apple pear. As a tree it grows between 3 and 5 m tall. It has an upright, moderately vigorous habit and forms a loosely branched crown. The leaves are oval to elongate, glossy and serrated at the margins. The fruit is round like an apple, with flesh that is often extremely juicy, crisp and sweet-sour.

Growing tips

The seeds are cold germinators and therefore require around 60 to 90 days of moisture and cold before they germinate successfully. However, these trees are normally propagated with cuttings anyway, so that they are a clone of the parent variety. You should prune the Nashi pear annually in late winter. Nashis are often self-fertile, but produce a significantly higher yield if there is a second Nashi variety or even just another pear variety nearby as a pollinator.