pear seed germinated

[Bluemchen]

Hi Grapes,

My 3 year old is very proud to have germinated a pear seed she planted. I must keep it alive on her behalf. What should I do next? It is in a 3" pot in the greenhouse. I am assuming it will need repotting when it is 6" or so inches tall and then hardening off, but I am guessing here....

All advice and wisom gratefully received, as always.

[rustylady]

you're guessing pretty well I think. Pears are hardy so don't need artificial heat. Generally keep an eye on it and don't over-water or re-pot until it's filled it's current pot with roots. Not sure how quickly they grow, but it might be worth keeping it in an unheated greenhouse through the winter. Good luck, you may have an exciting new variety!

[sarraceniac]

Hi Bluemchen. To be quite honest I would doubt if it will come to anything. Most pears (like apples) are grown on root stocks that have a cutting from the original tree grafted on. That is because they don't grow true from seed , as RL says you may end up with an entirely new variety, but more likely, because they are not as hardy, and not just weather-wise, it will simply die. Also you will not get fruit anyway without a pollinator. That would have to be a different type of pear that blossoms at the same time to allow the bees etc. to do their work.

That said, you could cheat a little. I hate to see a child disappointed. If you have a Morrison's or a Wilko or sometimes an Aldi near you, then why not substitute a £5 properly propagated tree if you can get one? I am not suggesting a £20+ nursery tree. If you have neighbours with other pear trees, even over half a mile away, then even one would act as pollinator. If not then buy two trees of two varieties and pop them both in. In the meantime don't bother molly-coddling your seedling. They are fully hardy and can be planted ouit when you like.

[FB.]

With a seed, there's not much more you can do than ensure that it is adequately fed and watered.
The characteristics of the tree (when mature) are unpredictable, but it may have some resemblances to the variety of pear that the pip came from.
Tolerance to your climate or local diseases is unpredictable, so it might die from those causes.
Seedling pear trees can capable of growing to greater sizes than even the largest apple trees.
A pear tree grown from a pip can take a very long time to fruit (and may need to reach 15-20ft before it fruits properly) - in ancient times, it was said that you plant an apple tree for your retirement and you plant a pear tree for the next generation.
I seem to remember that seedling pear roots can become very large, deep and penetrating - don't plant it within 20ft of a building!