Pear Tree Fruit

When we moved to our new house 2 seasons ago, we inherited a collection of well established fruit trees, several plums and an apple. These produce buckets of really tasty fruit.

It was only last year that I realised what I thought was a sickly small apple tree was in fact a pear tree as there was one solitary pear on it. This pear was fully grown and tasted lovely!

This year, paying more attention and having done some housework on it (pruning dead branches, clearing around it to let it have more light etc) I noted that there was a lot more fruit growing on it and I excitedly anticipated a bumper crop!

A few weeks ago I was devastated to find that all the budding fruit has turned black and withered (fruit was about the size of a grape at this stage).

As a complete novice to fruit trees, I do not know what is happening with the beast, is it operable? (more pruning), is it treatable? (chemicals, fertilizer etc) or does it need to be put down? :(

I would really appreciated any assistance. This year is gone, but would love some home grown pears next year.

Cheers

Fiefster

 

Most likely is a late icy cold wind. We often lose pearlets like this and you are a lot further north than we are.

 

Thanks Palustris,

Is there any cure? e.g. wrap the wee buds in sleeping bags? or is it just natures way of saying you shouldn't be trying to grow pears in arctic climes?

 

Protecting a whole tree is not going to be easy. Most seasons you may well get away with it, but you probably are stretching it a little to be growing pears that far north. I am sure I read that pears are doubtful north of a line from the Severn to the Trent, but that puts us out too!

 

You could try protecting just a few well fruited branches!

 

Thanks folks, short of wrapping the entire tree in loft insulation, I think I'll just have to wait for the one lucky fruit a year!!

Liz, how would you go about protecting a branch with lots of pearlets (that's a great term, is it for real???)

 

Wrap it in fleece? I do this with some of my maples if they start budding early, to protect them from late frosts and cold winds.
I hadn't realised that pears were so particular.

 

Buy a pear tree called invincible, it should fruit in a few years. These are very hardy for us up north.