Is Common Pear deer resistant?
Pyrus communis
Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
Rating source: Rutgers NJAES E271
About Common Pear
Pears must be picked while still firm and ripened off the tree, because left on the branch they go soft and grainy at the core. Most varieties need a pollinator nearby. Deer browse foliage and low fruit, and bucks rub the young trunks, so guard them for the first several years.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Spacing
- 142 to 236 in apart
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Maintenance
- High
Deer-resistant alternatives to Common Pear
Same plant type, hardy in the same zones, but rated better on the Rutgers scale. If Common Pear keeps getting eaten, these go in the same spot.
Similar to Common Pear
Other trees with the same deer rating.
- Alternate-Leaved DogwoodCornus alternifoliaZones 3–7Occasionally damaged
- American PersimmonDiospyros virginianaZones 4–9Occasionally damaged
- AppleMalus sp.Zones 4–9, genus rangeOccasionally damaged
- Atlantic White CedarChamaecyparis thyoidesZones 3–9Occasionally damaged
- Atlas CedarCedrus atlanticaZones 6–9Occasionally damaged
- Bald CypressTaxodium distichumZones 4–9Occasionally damaged
Protecting Common Pear
Whether this survives comes down to local pressure, so it is worth knowing the options before it gets browsed rather than after.
- Protecting a young treeBrowsing costs a season. A buck rubbing a two-inch stem in October girdles it and kills it outright.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
- Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.
Where Common Pear grows
Hardy across most of these 50 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
Browse from here
Every list Common Pear belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Common Pear
- Is Common Pear deer resistant?
- Common Pear (Pyrus communis) is rated Occasionally Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Browsed where deer pressure is high. Protect it.
- What hardiness zones does Common Pear grow in?
- Common Pear is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Common Pear grow in shade?
- No. Common Pear wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Common Pear get?
- Mature height is roughly 480–600 in. Growth rate is moderate.