You'll need at least two cultivars to get a crop of pears, but keep mind that different varieties will not always cross-pollinate with each other. Be sure to ask the nursery which selections make the best match. Expect your first significant crop of pears after the trees reach 8 to 10 years of age.
Pears are uniquely susceptible to an insect called psylla-a tiny red or green insect that sucks juice from fruit. As psyllas eat they secrete a honey-like substance that attracts a particular type of black, sooty mold. This mold looks similar to fire blight, but washes off.
Too much fertilizer and over pruning can encourage both problems. Branch spreaders increase air circulation and train branches while minimizing the need for pruning, and fertilizers should be applied only sparingly in the spring of each year.
This page contains the following solutions.
Don't wait to harvest pears until they've ripened on the trees because they won't be as delicious, said a horticulturist at Kansas State University.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a pear tree that by the time the pears start to ripen they fall off the tree. Why would this be?
Hardiness Zone: 5b
By Jim from Southern Ontario Canada
Pears are supposed to be picked green and ripened off the tree, unlike most other fruit. if you are waiting for them to ripen on the tree, you've waited too long to pick them. The tree may need fertilizer & water,contact your county's extension office to talk to a master gardener about any landscaping or home gardening questions. it's a free service. Good luck.
Our pear tree was so abundant every year but then we would find a pear here and a pear there with one bite out of it. Then one day we found the entire tree bare. never saw the culprit (even thought it might be a neighbor - but they would have had to have a ladder to reach the top - which was also bare).
As soon as they are full-sized and taste sweet, pick them. You can ripen them in the house, or for canning use them while still firm. Pears just don't soften on the tree. Hope this helps.
Oh my goodness the same thing happened to us. Our pear tree was loaded with pears and the next day I came out and they are gone. not a sign of any of them.
My pear tree has so many pears growing the limbs are hanging down. Should I leave them alone, tie them up or give some sort of support?
Support the tree with poles. This article shows you how. www.hunker.com/
I am very visual...maybe this video can help you:
www.youtube.com/
Lucky you to have so many pears!! I smell pear jam, pear pies, pear sorbet and other yummy pear products!! YUM!!!!
I have a pear tree that came with the house. It looks like it's been through tough times, but it bears fruit every year. I get hundreds of pears each season. I feel terrible that the tree branches are all hanging down from the weight of the pears. Some of the branches actually snap.
I've pruned my tree in 12' and didn't get any fruit in 13'. Figured the tree was getting healthier but this year I have twice as many pears and my tree looks horrible again. I tell people I have an upside down tree. Is that normal?
By Elizabeth A.
It's a blessing! Free food! A lot of people swear by thinning the fruit when it's just starting to form. Just snip off the excess blossoms or fruit. More energy for the remaining fruit. That can mean bigger, sweeter fruit. Thin it out more at the ends of the branches than near the tree itself.
You can also trim off all but the main branches, but be sure you know what you're doing. You have to recognize which branches to trim, and how to take care of the wound where the branch is cut. You can also make supports for the tree. Google how to build supports for tree limbs. It's fairly easy, if you know how to do it.
If your fruit is good and tasty, you might want to consider preserving it. Pear jams and jellies and preserves (I make a vanilla pear jam that is soooo good!), pear butter, pear pies, pears in a light syrup. Dried pears. Or give them away to friends, family, neighbors. Check the area for food banks that want fresh fruit and spread the blessing.
Sell them - home canners would love a good price on fresh fruit!. Find out if there are any gleaners in the area who will come and take the fruit you don't want and give it to the needy.
What a blessing! Some people would just cut the tree down. I'm so glad you want to nurture it.
My pears are about the size of a quarter. They are falling to the ground. What to do? Please help; the tree is loaded, but I'm afraid I won't get any fruit.
By Ben from Neely, MS
Check out these photos.
