Stupid Pear Tree

[Stacey Steve]

Went down the allotments today and my mature pear tree has started blooming!!

What the heck's going on?

[quark1]

How strange - did it bloom earlier in the year at the normal time?

Perhaps if all the flowers were blown off in apr/may it is a reaction by the tree try and prserve itself by a late attempt at fruiting?

[Tam]

It happens in crazy weather years. I have apple, plum and rowan blossom on trees at the moment. In the rowan's case it is the third blossoming. Some of the flowers have also had strange blooming times this year, but this is to be expected when you can have three seasons in one week.

[lynda66]

although, many of us seem to be forgetting at the moment, it is only just august ...... Harvest festivals are traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the Harvest Moon. This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox (about Sept. 23). In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. which is when we are supposed to give thanks for a good harvest, that's still over 2 months off, so although maybe a bit late or more than once the strange weather must be playing a part, but isn't 2 1/2 months long enough for fruit to form??

[Stacey Steve]

I must admit I thought it was sulking this year.

I inherited the tree when I took over my plots and it was an old tree with branches going in all directions about 25' high.

I couldn't get to the upper fruits and they were rotting on the tree. So last winter I took about 8' out of the top and trimmed out a few branches to open it up. Intending on clearing more out this year.

There were flowers earlier in the year but only about 10 fruits developed, where before people were taking barrow loads of pears away to make perry.

Where I cut away the top and at the branch ends that I trimmed back, it has gone like a coppiced willow with loads of new shoots, many of these I intend to cut off as well.

[littlemark]

>but isn't 2 1/2 months long enough for fruit to form??

Not a chance, if apples and pears set fruit in May that's more like 5 months to swell and ripen. Another point is that fruit trees flowering now are unlikely to find another flowering tree nearby capable of pollinating it, therefore no fruit.


>Where I cut away the top and at the branch ends that I trimmed back, it has gone like a coppiced willow with loads of new shoots, many of these I intend to cut off as well.

Winter pruning will often lead to excessive growth in the Spring/Summer. The food which is stored in the root system over Winter is not removed by Winter pruning, and will lead to vigorous, often upright growth when the tree comes out of dormancy and the sap rises. This upright growth is much less likely to bear fruiting spurs. By pruning now (Summer pruning) when the tree's food is in the branches, removes some of the trees food and therefore helps to reduces vigour and prevents this excessive growth.

Mark

[sunflower]

That's exactly what happened to my baby pear trees two months ago. I honestly thought the blossom would just fall off. But......no! lots of baby pears growing alongside the more mature pears from the first blossoming in Spring!

[Stacey Steve]

Thanks very much for the advice. Looks like I've got a pruning job over the weekend, well at least that's something I can do in the rain.