Cleveland Select Pear Info: Flowering Pear ‘Cleveland Select’ Care

A Flowering Cleveland Select Pear Tree
cleveland pear
(Image credit: picturethatphoto)

The Cleveland Select is a variety of flowering pear that is very popular for its showy spring blossoms, its bright autumn foliage, and its sturdy, neat shape. If you want a flowering pear, it’s a good choice. Keep reading to learn more about growing Cleveland Select pears and Cleveland Select care.

Cleveland Select Pear Info

What is a Cleveland Select pear? Pyrus calleryana “Cleveland Select” is a variety of Callery pear. Cleveland Select is known for its extremely showy white flowers that bloom in early spring. It also has a narrow columnar form and strong branches, setting it apart from many other varieties of pear and making it ideal as a flowering specimen tree. In the autumn, its leaves turn attractive shades of orange to red and purple. It has been known, in some areas, to hybridize with other Callery pear varieties and escape into the wild as an invasive species, so check with your local extension office before planting.

Cleveland Select Care

Growing Cleveland Select pear trees is relatively easy and rewarding. The trees need full sun and well drained, rich, loamy soil. They like soil that is somewhat alkaline. They require moderate, consistent moisture and should be irrigated weekly during hot, dry spells. They are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9 and can tolerate both cold and heat. The trees tend to grow to a height of 35 feet (11 m.) and a spread of 16 feet (5 m.) and should be pruned moderately in the winter while dormant, but they grow naturally in an attractive shape. Due to their narrow, upright growth pattern, they are especially good for growing in clusters or rows, such as along a sidewalk.

Liz Baessler
Senior Editor

The only child of a horticulturist and an English teacher, Liz Baessler was destined to become a gardening editor. She has been with Gardening Know how since 2015, and a Senior Editor since 2020. She holds a BA in English from Brandeis University and an MA in English from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. After years of gardening in containers and community garden plots, she finally has a backyard of her own, which she is systematically filling with vegetables and flowers.