You can grow a pear tree from the seeds of a pear you ate. It takes a cold treatment, some patience and one important adjustment in expectations: the tree that grows will not produce the same pear. Here is how to do it, and how gardeners turn a seedling into a tree worth keeping.

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The short answer: pear seeds need a moist, cold period before they will germinate. Penn State Extension lists pear seed as needing 60 to 90 days at 33 to 41°F (best at 40°F). Clean and dry the seeds, mix them with moist (not wet) peat moss or sand in mid-January, keep them in the fridge until after the last severe spring frosts, then sow outdoors in early April. Seedlings will not be true to the parent pear. Most growers use them as rootstocks and graft or bud a named variety onto them.

Why seedlings are different from the parent

Penn State Extension explains that seeds from fruit produce plants that are a hybrid of two parents: the tree that grew the fruit and whichever tree supplied the pollen. The seedling will be a pear, but its fruit may not look or taste the same. That is why all fruit tree varieties are propagated by grafting or budding.

This is especially true of pears. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Extension notes that all pear varieties require cross-pollination to set good crops, although a few, such as Seckel, may set adequate crops alone. So the seed in your pear almost certainly has a different father variety.

What a seedling is good for

A pear seedling still has uses:

A rootstock. Penn State notes you can grow your own rootstock from the seed of the same type of fruit. UNH says pear seedlings are commonly used as rootstocks and produce trees that are reasonably winter hardy and vigorous.
An experiment. Some seedlings produce perfectly good fruit. Just expect a full-size tree: UNH says trees on seedling roots can be quite tall, and are usually spaced 15 to 20 feet apart.

Step 1: collect and clean the seed

Take seeds from ripe pears. Penn State’s method is to remove all the fruit flesh, let the seeds air-dry, and store them in a container with a loose lid in a cool place until mid-January. Seeds can be kept dry in an airtight container for up to a year if the temperature is controlled.

Step 2: chill the seed

Pear seeds, like apple, peach and cherry seeds, need a chilling period called after-ripening before they will germinate. Penn State gives these requirements:

Fruit	Effective temperature	Best temperature	Days needed
Pear	33 to 41°F	40°F	60 to 90
Apple	40 to 50°F	40 to 41°F	70 to 80
Peach	33 to 50°F	45°F	120 to 130
Cherry	33 to 50°F	41°F	90 to 140

To chill the seed in a refrigerator:

In mid-January, mix the seeds with moist (not wet) peat moss, sand or shredded paper towel.
Put the mix in a container with the lid loosely in place.
Refrigerate until after the last severe spring frosts, for at least 60 days.
Keep the seeds away from ripening fruit. Penn State warns against exposing them to fruits that give off ethylene gas, a list that includes apples, bananas, pears and peaches.

Step 3: sow the seed

In early April, Penn State recommends sowing in a prepared garden seedbed:

Make a furrow no deeper than one or two times the longest dimension of the seed.
Cover with a light layer of soil, then an inch or two of sand to stop the surface from crusting.
Keep the soil moist but not wet, and do not add fertilizer.

The outdoor alternative

Penn State also describes sowing in fall and letting winter do the chilling. Prepare the bed and sow the same way, then cover the row with hardware cloth, pushing the edges several inches into the soil and closing the ends, to keep squirrels and chipmunks out. Watch for seedlings the following April and remove the screen as they grow.

Step 4: raise the seedlings

Penn State’s nursery advice:

When seedlings are 6 to 8 inches tall, apply 1 to 2 tablespoons of urea per 12 inches of row in a band along one side, about 3 inches from the plants.
Water thoroughly every 10 to 12 days.
Seedlings form a taproot. To make transplanting easier, push a spade under each plant to cut the taproot about 5 to 6 inches below the surface.

Step 5: graft or bud a variety (optional)

If you want a known pear, graft or bud it onto your seedling. Penn State says pear seedlings should grow through to July or August of their second year before budding. For Asian pears, Clemson Extension stresses choosing a rootstock suited to the soil, and names birchleaf pear (Pyrus betulifolia) as one species that works well as a rootstock for Asian pears.

Step 6: plant it out

When your tree is ready for its permanent spot, choose a site in full sun. UNH says pear trees require full sunlight all day and will not tolerate poorly drained soils with a high water table. Plant with a hole two to three times wider than the root ball but no deeper, keeping the trunk flare visible, as the International Society of Arboriculture recommends.

For help identifying a pear tree you already have, see what kind of pear tree you have. For a related project, see how to plant an Asian pear tree.

Sources

Growing Fruit Plants from Seed, Penn State Extension
Growing Fruits: Growing Pears in the Home Orchard [fact sheet], University of New Hampshire Extension
Asian Pear, Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center
Planting a Tree, International Society of Arboriculture, TreesAreGood.org

Top photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to Grow Pear Trees From Seed