Raintree Nursery's Pear Growing Guide

[karengrice]

I put in one of your European sweet pears this year. It is getting some nice buds on it now. I’m pretty excited, Thanks for sharing this information with us!

[gardentokitchenwgarrycarte]

Thanks for the tips. A pear tree is on my list!

[ninecreekfarm]

Would love a rundown on pruning pear cultivars. Seems that each cultivar sets fruit differently and requires different pruning behavior.

[danvorhis]

In Western WA, haven't yet seen any fireblight (Erwinia amylovora - a bacteria) on European-type pears - temps are cool enough to avoid that particular problem. But do see pear scab and leaf rusts (both fungi), and certainly blister mites and red spider mites. Asian pears sometimes see Pseudomonas (another bacterium)...

[ratipati]

Did you say Bartlet tree is self pollinating and does not need another variety? Please confirm. I have bought two Bartlet variety tree and was wondering I should buy another tree of different kind

[annamcmanus]

Hey I just moved into a house that has a smaller pear tree I just noticed it actually has fruit on it the bears are bell shaped and I’m not sure what kind they are are there ways of figuring it out?

[juliemcgugan]

I just managed to save my three year old pear tree from a fungal infection (by the skin of my teeth! It was really close!) I have noticed that it has begun to flower. It only started recovering three weeks ago! Should I make sure it doesn’t make fruit? I really want to make sure it put 100% of its energy into recovering, not fruit. I know how much energy that could take away from the tree.

[verawol]

I ordered a bye russet and a stuttgarter gieshirtle are these compatible? On Raintree it said the Nyerere russet was an early pear but I didn’t see if the stuttgarter was an early

[loquat]

You obviously do not know the zones 8b to 9b and warmer. Plenty do fine in zone 9a and zone 8 is not the limit for growing pears. Common pears are acres home, southern bartlett(not true bartlett), leona (Has other names), kieffers, orients, chojuro, Hood, florida Home, LeConte, Badlwin, Bis-Champ, Killer, Pine apple, and others do well into zone 9.
There are at least three major groups of pears. There are perry pears used for perry cider. Most of the southern pears are hybrids.

[deepaktricks]

Hello can you give me some pear sticks

[mytech]

Be cautious with generic fertilizing advice, every property has a different soil and history. I learned this the hard way after I bought some "good valley-bottom" land and while deep and stone-free it turned out to be nearly barren sand partly due to the base soil and partly due to the prior owners' mismanagement stripping out all the organics.
For some locations(like mine) the lack of fertilizer in the first year will result in stunted, weak, or even dead trees. While other locations may have a soil imbalance with a plenty of one nutrient and too little of another. While a soil test can help clarify issues, especially if planning to plant a large area(high initial investment costs), a simple observation of the area for a year or two can get a good ballpark. ie is the grass green and thick or thin and slow, moss, the health and growth rate of other bushes and young deciduous trees, any signs of specific nutrient deficiencies or excesses in vegetables plants.(especially those grown as major commercial crops as these have more data and photos online.) The proportion of sand to silt to clays, soil micro texture, can make a big difference in nutrient and moisture management style.