Weeping Ornamental Pear Trees

• Variety: Weeping Pear, a silver-leaved weeping tree for a lawn
• Latin name: Pyrus salicifolia 'Pendula'
• Sold as: Bareroot standard, half-standard and 200/250cm tree. Pot-grown in 10 and 12 litre pots
• Size: Easily kept at 3 to 4m by pruning
• Leaves: Narrow and silvery-grey, like a Willow's
• Flowers: Creamy-white, in spring
• Fruit: Small, brown and hard. Ornamental, not for eating
• Position: Full sun. Exposed or sheltered
• Soil: Any fertile soil
• Award: RHS Award of Garden Merit
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Weeping Pear is grown for its leaves: narrow, silvery-grey and carried on slender weeping branches, with creamy-white blossom in spring. It is easy in any fertile soil in full sun, holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, and a little pruning keeps it to the size of a small lawn. The fruit is for the birds.

Weeping Ornamental Pear Trees

Pyrus salicifolia Pendula, is an ornamental Weeping Pear tree. It's suitable for a small garden and will grow on any soil.
Pendula can easily be kept at 3-4 metres with a little pruning.
You can buy eating pear trees here, as well as wild pears and ornamental Chanticleer pears.

How Standard Trees are Measured:
All the plants in the ornamental trees section are graded as standards, which means that they're measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level (basically, their trunk's waist measurement). They aren't measured by their height, which will vary. So, a 6/8 standard has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8 centimetres and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10 centimetres around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height.
Standard trees are 2 to 3.5 metres tall (on average) when they arrive; they're the most mature trees that you can buy from us. Bareroot trees are delivered from November to April, and the pot-grown sizes in any month when in stock. We cannot tell you precisely how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.

General description of Pyrus salicifolia Pendula:

This little tree has a delicate appearance, but it's one of the toughest ornamental plants we sell. It a small, weeping tree with slim, silvery leaves that darken as summer wears on to a shiny grey-green. It carries masses of small white flowers in spring and early summer, which are followed by small brown fruit. The fruit aren't really edible, as they taste too bitter, but they're ornamental, not for eating, and should get some interest from hungry birds in early winter.
Weeping pears naturally have a neat, rounded canopy and are ideal specimens for lawn planting or small gardens.

History & Trivia

Pyrus salicifolia, which means "willow leaf pear", is native to the Middle East, Turkey and South-Eastern Europe and was introduced to Britain in about 1780. This weeping variety won the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993 for being both pretty and easy to grow.

Planting Companions

A Crab Apple is the other small lawn tree of the same family, and gives you the fruit colour that a Weeping Pear leaves out. Both sit among our trees for small gardens. Silver suits silver: Lavender planted in the sun at the edge of the canopy picks up the leaf colour. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge for Garden Trees?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Weeping Pear comes bareroot, lifted while dormant, or pot-grown for planting in any month. Bareroot trees are guaranteed for 12 months, and so is a potted tree delivered leafless between November and March.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big does a Weeping Pear grow?

It is easily kept at 3 to 4 metres with a little pruning. Left alone it gets a good deal bigger.

Can you eat the fruit?

No. The fruit is for show, and not for people or pets to eat. It is small, hard and bitter, and the birds take it in early winter.

Does it have the RHS Award of Garden Merit?

Yes. It has held the RHS Award of Garden Merit since 1993.

Can you grow a Weeping Pear in a pot?

For a few years, yes. A pot-grown or half-standard tree will live in a large container on a terrace for a while, and then it needs the ground.

What does salicifolia mean?

Willow-leaved. The narrow silver leaf is the whole point of the tree.

What is a half-standard?

A tree with a shorter clear stem below the head. It is a stem height, not a smaller variety, and it grows to the same size.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot trees are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. Pot-grown trees can be delivered and planted in any month when you find them in stock.