Unsuspecting Color

Images of the Ornamental pear tree Pyrus calleryana "Chanticleer"

We often think of maple trees for their beautiful fall colors, but, this ornamental pear stands right up there with the best.

An ornamental fruit tree does not produce actual pears even though it has flowers in the spring. It does produce a very small hard bitter "fruit" which the birds eat.

This five year old tree was a gift from my church in memory of my father. It is from the old "Lafayette Nursery."

The shallow-rooted tree is tolerant of a wide range of soils and this one was planted in what was formally a very compacted gravel driveway. Not the best of conditions although it has never shown any signs of not being perfectly happy.

It is a narrow and tailored tree with multiple leaders, tight branching and needs little pruning. It can measure 25-35 ft by 16-25 ft. It's a fast grower and prefers full sun. For the urban yard, it shows good resistance to pollution and fire blight. For the smaller yard, it doesn't form a shade canopy.

The shiny dark green leaves turn orange/gold or red/purple in the fall. It turns late in the fall and looses it's leaves after most other trees are bare.

I've also planted white Dutch iris and a low growing Japanese blood grass below the tree. I did this right after it was planted so there was no damage to the shallow roots. I, also, keep it mulched.

This tree is considered a three season show - spring: flowers - summer: emerald green leaves - fall: bright colored leaves.

In case you enlarge the fall picture - the tiny blur marks are raindrops. NORAD just announced this area is sixteen plus inches over average rainfall for the year. I'm surprised it's only sixteen. It's fast turning the beautiful corn, soybeans and other fall crops into a huge loss. For those without insurance coverage, it must be frightening times. With those who have insurance, it will only partially help and then only after much proof is submitted. Definitely prayer time in this part of the Bible belt.