Weeping Willow Leaf Pear
Pyrus salicifolia 'Pendula'
This is one of my favorite ornamental trees. My parents have two of them that are trained into an arbor right before a descending stone staircase. They look almost ethereal, with their dusty silver, wispy foliage, and their quirky branching habit. When I got a place of my own, I just HAD to have a few. So, I planted three of them, staggering the length of a winding grass path, that will be trained to grow over the path (a sort of tunnel in the end).
Weeping Willow Leaf Pears are an outstanding ornamental. They do great in infertile, poor soil, and don't seem to be bothered by any problems of note. They get to be approximately 20' x 20', but grow slowly enough that they are easy to train and shape to look the way you want them too!
Their white blooms come out in early spring in large clusters- we always bring an armful of branches into the house for forcing. The blooms are then followed in the late summer-fall by beautiful, chartreuse green pear shaped fruit that are also great for arranging indoors.
More and more, I find myself leaning more toward the unusual, rare varieties...not just the typical red-in-fall maple (which I love, too), but plants with a wider spectrum of color. But, if you are in the market for a tree that has brilliant red, fall color, the Redpoint Maple (Acer rubrum 'Frank Jr.') is one of our favorites right now!
