Hello,
I have a Comice pear tree (bare root, just planted) and I thought I had a good variety for pollination but more research made me cancel that o...
Knowledgebase
Pear pollinators #925870
Asked March 11, 2026, 4:24 PM EDT
Hello,
I have a Comice pear tree (bare root, just planted) and I thought I had a good variety for pollination but more research made me cancel that order. Also, the nursery wasn't honest about the potential size of the tree based on the rootstock – it would have been too big for the space anyway. So now I'm searching for an available European pear that will also work with Comice. Since it's this late in the season, there's not a great deal available. Additionally, I've read that Comice is finicky and so it seems like a good idea to have a late bloomer for this tree to be productive at all.
The problems is that there is not consistent information on blooming/pollinator compatibility. Cummins Nursery in upstate NY says the bloom time really doesn't matter and so any tree will do. Washington State Extension claims that Seckel will pollinate Comice and then says to to use OrangePippinTrees pollination checker to find other varieties. Orange Pippin doesn't list Seckel as a good fit for Comice even though they are both in what Orange Pippin refers to as Flowering Group 4. Additionally, that site lists many trees but oddly, it's missing two trees from the PNW (Orcas and Rescue). Portland Nursery claims that Rescue is a late bloomer and so will pollinate Comice but Raintree and Sky Nursery say it's a mid-bloomer. A HortScience article says Rescue "will pollinate" Comice (as if it's perhaps reluctant to do so). Sky Nursery and Raintree's pollinator chart say Orcas is "last to bloom" as is Comice. BurntRidge suggests Orcas is a good fit for Comice but in speaking with them, they say, actually, Orcas is a mid-bloomer. While the supermarket varieties (Bosc, Bartlett, and Anjou) all are good pollinators of Comice according to WA State Extension, why grow pears that you can buy anywhere?
I'm not young so I don't feel like I can make a mistake here and then correct it later. And, these trees are expensive and space is quite limited so I really need to make a good decision the first time around. Is there a great source of this information and why does it vary so much? Thank you. Best, Rachel
Multnomah CountyOregon
Expert Response
Thank you for your question, Rachel. I am unclear whether you want Comise or not, but here are 3 resources (counting the two links at the bottom on the WSU article) that provide pollonizer information: https://treefruit.wsu.edu/web-article/pear-pollination/
Thank you, but I don't see a great deal of effort to actually read my question.
No, since I have a Doyenne du Comice, I don't want another.
I was citing from the WA Extension guide you linked that listed a very few pollinators which, as I said, I didn't want since 3 were available in every supermarket. I also told you I followed that WA Extension link to Orange Pippin and Raintree which led to my confusion since across the pollination charts, there is not agreement on bloom time.
I actually got a helpful response to this question from Cummins Nursery in Ithaca: "You're right - pollination can be a rabbit hole. You will definitely see varying dates reported for the same variety and this is for several reasons, one of which being that some trees will respond differently to different weather conditions. Another reason for discrepancies is that most orchards growing hundreds of varieties will be relying on someone else's reporting because they don't have the time to walk their rows every day throughout bloom season every year. So that can turn into a game of broken telephone."
Rachel: I am sorry you are dissatisfied with my answer. I assure you that I not only read it (3 times), but I asked 3 other fruit tree experts for input. None could determine what information you wanted.
Since you are spending lots of time doing your own research (including that outside of the scientific information we are required to provide), you might want to change your query to “pollinizer” (plants that are able to cross-pollenize other varieties), rather than “pollinators”, which transfer pollen from one plant to another, typically insects and other animals.
