Could have been a large shrub, I believe their was a block wall in front of it but it was probably 12 ft tall so I thought tree rather than shrub. I've never heard of Cordia...Thanks

Hi all, I've posted a similar post on ID that plant forum.. and somebody has recommend that I would get more help from this forum... I live in British Columbia, Canada (zone 8a). My mother-in-law's place has a pear tree that came with the house when they bought it over 30 years ago. Not sure how long the tree has been there before they purchased the house. The tree has been very fruitful every year since they've had it. However, this year it is not doing so well according to my husband. The tree barks near the bottom are drying and cracking. They have a dog who does his business near the trunk of the tree. I've told husband that he should get a fence to keep the dog out. What can we do to stop the cracking? There's been a huge swing in temperature between May and June. We've had a record hottest May and a Fall-weather-like June. Can someone please identify this specific pear tree, and the care for it as well? Thank you.

Acer palmatum

You can do it - I had three full-sized ones in containers for a while. They were very large pots. And you have to remember to fertilize. Unless they are dwarfs it's not a great long term plan.