Pear Tree Id and Maint Questions

[stihlman32]

I have a pear that stands about 25 feet tall. Can someone id it, and what can I do to improve fruit quality. Also as tall as it is, it's tough to maintain and prune. Can I prune it back or (don't kill me!) top it to make maintenance easier, or should I just buy a huge ladder?

Thanks,

 

[stihlman32]

More pics...

 

[lego1970]

I have two that look like that. To be honest I don't know what variety they are. Bartlett Pear Tree, maybe, I don't know? Anyway they are a pain to prune. I just use a ladder and pruner poles (about 16') then just do the best I can cleaning it up. One year I used a generic fungicide that I bought from Home Depot and later in the season a generic insecticide. I used the fungicide in the spring and the insecticide around two weeks before picking them. That combination seemed to have a positive affect on both the dieback issues and the insects that ruin the fruit, however I didn't notice any more fruit production. The other years, I've just cleaned out the dead and picked the fruit a little early and they seem to be doing just fine. That's all the info I can relay to you. Good luck.

 

[Lawnmowerboy48]

Light, light, light, prune for light penetration throughout the canopy. It is a little to late to be pruning for that not. Prune heavily next year when they are dormant, beat them up, prune hard to stimulate new growth, pears fruit on second year wood.

 

[stihlman32]

Light, light, light, prune for light penetration throughout the canopy. It is a little to late to be pruning for that not. Prune heavily next year when they are dormant, beat them up, prune hard to stimulate new growth, pears fruit on second year wood.

Thanks LMB I'm no so concerned with fruit this year, I know it's pretty much a lost cause. Would I be safe to drop 10' of the canopy near a 45 degree leader to reduce height, or will it permanently injure/kill the tree?

 

[treeseer]

yes it will be ok. it is not an oak.

 

[xtm]

There are 1000s of pear varieties, so ID is pretty much a guess. There are no native American pears, so yours grew from nursery stock or a seed. By its size I bet it sprang up from a seed - no one would want to have an orchard of trees that tall. Are the pears soft or hard?

I've been told that Asian pear varieties usually have a "shaggy" bark - so I would guess that yours is one of the many European varieties.

If you use synthetic fertilizer, you need to fertilize late winter/early spring before it blooms. Too much Nitrogen will promote limb and foliage and will suppress fruiting. I shovel a lot of composted horse manure under the dripline of mine all during the late fall and winter months. When I used syn. fertilizers, my trees would get powdery mildew and some blight and worms in the fruit, but all that disappeared after a few years of the manure.

xtm

 

[treeseer]

There are no native American pears,

 

[S Mc]

I love the little tidbits that come out in these forums. No, there are no native American pears. They are [gasp] an introduced/nonnative/invasive/sendthembackwheretheycamefrom species.

Pyrus calleryana native to Korea and China, introduced 1908.
Pyrus communis, the common pear, native to Europe, western asia, long cultivated, escaped and naturalized.
other less common pears are from Europe and Asia as well.


Sylvia

 

[stihlman32]

There are 1000s of pear varieties, so ID is pretty much a guess. There are no native American pears, so yours grew from nursery stock or a seed. By its size I bet it sprang up from a seed - no one would want to have an orchard of trees that tall. Are the pears soft or hard?

I've been told that Asian pear varieties usually have a "shaggy" bark - so I would guess that yours is one of the many European varieties.

If you use synthetic fertilizer, you need to fertilize late winter/early spring before it blooms. Too much Nitrogen will promote limb and foliage and will suppress fruiting. I shovel a lot of composted horse manure under the dripline of mine all during the late fall and winter months. When I used syn. fertilizers, my trees would get powdery mildew and some blight and worms in the fruit, but all that disappeared after a few years of the manure.

xtm

Pears are hard, and I don't fertilize...yet. I guess from the lack of flames coming from my suggestion and Treeseer's confirmation, I can (and likely will) drop to top off this tree. Thanks for the responses.

 

[xtm]

I love the little tidbits that come out in these forums. No, there are no native American pears. They are [gasp] an introduced/nonnative/invasive/sendthembackwheretheycamefrom species.
Sylvia

Sylvia,

I find it ironic that a fruit as Un-American as the pear brings out so many of my small-town American memories! What could possibly be more American than my grandma's pear preserves? I can almost taste 'em just thinkin' about 'em..... so don't get me worrying about the citizenship of her kumquat marmalade!

xtm