Snow Pear

Snow Pear (Pyrus nivalis) is the ornamental pear to plant when you want silver rather than green. The foliage is grey and felted, almost white when the new growth opens, and in spring the whole canopy disappears under white blossom. It reaches around 7m tall and 5m wide within ten to fifteen years, with fibrous roots that stay clear of paving and pipes.

Why you'll love it

• Silver foliage that changes the whole garden. Grey felted leaves cool down a hot planting scheme and stand out against dark green hedging or brickwork.
• A serious spring blossom. Masses of white flowers before the leaves harden off, worked over by bees and butterflies for a fortnight or more.
• Roots that behave. Fibrous and non-invasive, so it can be planted near a driveway, a path or a service line without the usual worry.
• Genuinely tough. Frost hardy, wind tolerant, drought tolerant once established and content in poor soil, which is why it turns up in exposed country gardens.

Where it works best

Driveways and avenues. The classic use. Space trees 4m to 6m apart so each canopy keeps its own shape and the silver reads as a deliberate line rather than a hedge.

Screening and windbreaks. For a screening row, plant 3m apart. That is close enough for the canopies to knit into a continuous band, though it is deciduous, so winter screening is only partial.

Feature and shade tree. A single specimen on a lawn shows the shape best, throwing useful shade by its fifth or sixth summer.

Growing Snow Pear in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, always. This is a tree for warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens, and it needs a real winter to flower and colour properly. In subtropical and tropical gardens the winter is too mild and the humidity too high.

Soil. Adaptable, including poor and rocky ground, provided it drains. On heavy clay plant on a raised mound and work compost through a wide planting area rather than a narrow hole. Mulch 75mm deep, clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first two summers, since an advanced tree carries more canopy than its new roots can supply. After that it needs help only in a prolonged dry spell. A complete slow release fertiliser in early spring is enough.

Pruning. Light and infrequent. Prune in winter while it is bare, removing crossing branches and lifting the lower limbs if you want to mow underneath.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow Snow Pear in advanced sizes only: 400mm and 500mm pots, then 45L, 100L and 200L. Even the smallest is a real tree rather than a whip, usually 1.5m or more, and the 100L and 200L trees arrive with a formed canopy and immediate presence.

If your tree arrives in winter it will be bare, which is normal for a deciduous pear and not a fault. Expect a settling season while the roots catch up with the canopy, then 40cm to 60cm of growth a year. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Ornamental pear varieties compared
• Trees suited to driveways and avenues
• Trees with non-invasive roots
• Browse the ornamental tree range

Common questions

How far apart should I plant a row?

Three metres apart for a screening row where you want the canopies to meet, or 4m to 6m along a driveway if you want each tree to keep a distinct shape.

Does it drop fruit on the driveway?

It can set small hard pears, but they are sparse and nothing like the mess of an eating pear. On a paved area it is worth sweeping up what does drop, since the fruit stains lightly.

Will it grow in a warm subtropical garden?

Not well. It needs winter chill to flower properly and to hold its silver colour. It performs best in southern and inland districts: the tablelands, Victoria, South Australia and the cooler inland.