Cultivation

According to Pear Bureau Northwest, about 3000 known varieties of pears are grown worldwide.The pear is normally propagated by grafting a selected variety onto a rootstock, which may be of a pear variety or quince. Quince rootstocks produce smaller trees, which is often desirable in commercial orchards or domestic gardens. For new varieties the flowers can be crossbred to preserve or combine desirable traits. The fruit of the pear is produced on spurs, which appear on shoots more than one year old.