Plant Focus: Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’
Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’ is a really useful, attractive and elegant medium sized garden tree. Whilst it is deciduous, designers like me often use it for screening, as it has a neatly upright shape, and it is one of the first trees to come into leaf in the Spring. It also holds its leaves for a long time, until well into the Autumn (it is one of the last trees to lose its leaves), when they normally turn a bright orange-red before falling.
Whilst in leaf, the leaves are a bright, clean looking glossy green. It also flowers very early in Spring (a mass of white flowers) making it a cheery plant to have in the garden at the end of a long dreary winter.
What is it?
It is actually an ornamental form of Pear, but only very rarely does it produce its small fruits.
Where can I use it?
It is also extremely tough – tolerant of most soil types, not minding a bit of pollution and very hardy.
Whilst its characteristics have made it popular as a screening tree, it is an excellent general garden tree, and can also be used for avenues, pleaching etc. And whilst it is perhaps not quite as spectacular as some trees (Acers for example), in my opinion it is worthy of a place in all but the smallest of gardens.
You can see more photos (including one of the lovely autumn colour of the young trees) on the Barcham website.
Image credits: Magnus Manske, Matthew Field, Famartin, Daderot