Fruits & Nuts - Pear
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  (April) I have decided to plant three pear trees. Because of the lack of space in my yard, I want to plant a semi-dwarf Bartlett pear and pollinate it with two dwarf Starking Delicious. Does this sound reasonable? I've read on the inter-net that the Bartlett Pear can not be grown in Arkansas because of fire blight. I don't know who to believe. I know I can rely on your suggestions, so can you recommend to me a good pear tree for my back yard.

  'Bartlett' pears, along with other European pears, are probably the most susceptible to fireblight of any of the edible pears. Unfortunately, they have the most name recognition of any pear tree, so they often get planted. There are numerous Oriental hybrid varieties of pears for Arkansas. Asian pears are also being planted with good success in the state. 'Kieffer' is excellent for disease resistance, but not the best fresh use pear, but it does make great preserves. 'Comice' and 'Seckel' are very good as are 'Moonglow' and 'Maxine'. Production is increased if you plant two different varieties.

  (June) Please advise me what to do for blight in pear trees. My trees bloomed, were fully leafed out and are covered with small pears, then a blight hit. Leaves turn black and fall off. Thanks for any help you can give me.

  This has turned into a high fireblight year. Some years it is worse than others, and this year it is fairly widespread. Keep in mind that the only time sprays are even slightly effective is during the bloom period, which is long past. For now, all you can do is cut out the damaged wood six to eight inches beneath where it is visible. Sterilize your pruning shears between each cut. When hot weather hits and stays, the activity of this disease will stop, but it will still be in the wood that was damaged. You can spray with streptomycin or Agri-strep next spring, but some consider it only a band-aid approach. if weather conditions are ideal for the disease you seem to have it anyway -- maybe not as bad. You should still be able to harvest your pears.

  What can be done for a pear tree that has blight? Is there any spray that can be used? Any information you can give me would be appreciated. Mine is covered in it now.

  Fireblight is a bacterial disease that is spread during pollination by bees, while the trees are in bloom. Once it attacks a plant, there is no spray cure. The only time sprays may even begin to be effective is during bloom. Then use steptomycin or agrostrep every three to five days during flowering. Even then, if you have a highly susceptible tree, you may still get it. At this time, simply prune out the infected limbs, six to eight inches beneath where the damage has occurred, sterilize your pruning shears in between each cut with a Clorox solution. Once the temperatures warm up, the spread of this disease should stop for the season.

  Please advise as to how and when to prune pear trees. Our pear tree is about 23 years old. It has never been pruned right. I butchered it once. It is the "old style" tree, big and tall. It has many new shoots growing straight up from the old original limbs. I know it needs something.

  Pear trees can be pruned in late February along with other fruit trees. If your tree has been plagued with fireblight, (which from the sound of it, yours hasn’t been) you can wait to prune in the summer. Pear trees tend to produce numerous water sprouts during the growing season. Since your tree is so ovegrown, I would recommend some thinning cuts in February, then some additional pruning in June. Summer pruning tends to be more dwarfing than dormant season pruning. You may reduce production for a year or two to get your tree in shape.

  We have an old pear tree that is dying. Is there any way to root a pear tree from the remains of this tree?

  While some varieties of pear may root if treated with rooting hormone and kept under a moist environment, the best way to propagate these trees is by grafting or budding. Invest in a new small pear tree, and then graft or bud some of your existing tree onto it. Your local county extension office has a fact sheet detailing the procedures for budding and grafting.

  I’ve been told there is an answer to this problem. I have a pear tree that is beautiful until the hundreds of pears appear. The birds and squirrels make a terrible mess all summer long, and the limbs droop--in short, it’s an eyesore and right at our patio. Can you tell me if there is anything I can do to prevent it from bearing fruit? Maybe before or during the bloom season?

  There is a growth regulator sold under the trademark Florel. The chemical is Ethephon--a growth regulator that produces ethylene and causes the flower buds to abort. It is not a common product at our local stores, and the smallest size we know of is a quart--although it is not overly expensive--it runs roughly $20 per quart. It is manufactured by a company named Monterey. To avoid fruit, you need to spray at the end of the bloom period.

  I have pear trees and this year I have been getting a lot of bad fruit. I read somewhere that the best time to spray your fruit trees is before the blooms fall off. The problem with this, is during that time period there are hummingbirds around. I don't want to harm the birds. This has happened two years and I really need to spry them. What do you suggest I do?

  One application of a fruit spray is not going to give you blemish free fruit. There are spray guides available from your local county extension office, but the sprays typically begin when two-thirds of the flower petals fall off, and continue every two to three weeks until harvest, depending on which fruit crop. By bloom period sprays I think you are referring to fireblight sprays which are applied during bloom. Fireblight doesn't damage the fruit as much as it damages the trees, with dieback on the branches. If your trees aren't being damaged by this, those sprays won't be needed. As for the hummingbirds, I doubt they would be in the trees past bloom time, so sprays should not affect them then.

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