Pyrus calleryana 'Autumn Blaze'
Common name:
Autumn Blaze Callery Pear
Pronunciation:
PI-rus kal-er-ee-A-na
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Deciduous tree, to 30 ft (9 m), spread about 25 ft (7.6 m), rounded form. Leaves alternate, simple, leathery, and glossy dark green. Variable fall color early, can be bright red. Flowers white, borne in small clusters, somewhat hidden by expanding leaves. Produces few fruit.
- Sun. Very adaptable to many different soils; tolerates drying and pollution.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 4 (more cold-hardy than many other cultivars). Selected at Oregon State University by Mel Westwood, introduced in 1980.
- Considered invasive. Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) is reported as established outside cultivation in 25 states in the United States, sometimes forming dense thickets. The small fruit are eaten by birds that then disperse the viable seeds beyond the original area. The resulting plants are wild-growing descendants of multiple genotypes, originating in part from introduced cultivars. At lease two states have banned the sale of Callery pear, and the rulings go into effect in 2-3 years. Note: "The species cannot self-pollinate because of a self-incompatibility system, but recent fruit set is due to crossing between different cultivars or between the scion and rootstock of cultivated individuals. Consequently, individual cultivars themselves are not invasive, but the combination of cultivars within an area creates a situation in which invasive plants can be produced. " see https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/57/11/956/234351?login=false
- Oregon State Univ. campus: northeast Cordley Hall.
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit, summer and fall
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flowering branches, spring
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flowering branches, comparison
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flowers and expanding leaves
