Can I STOP my huge pear tree fruiting?

[StephenH]

Get one of those fruit pickers with a telescopic pole so you can reach the top ones - or is it really that tall?

Well, that'd help, but mine won't reach to the top of my apple tree, and I believe that full-size pear trees are much bigger than apple trees.

[northepaul]

Could you put your location in your profile? If you are near me, I know of acouple of tree surgeons nearby

[VirginVegGrower]

I would speak to a proper tree surgeon who has experience with fruit trees - they should be able to come and take a substantial amount off the tree without killing it/damaging it... at least that way over the next few years you might be able to harvest the pears before they ripen and stop the wasps (we have similar problems within our orchard - just saving up for the tree surgeon, as we have 8 trees....)

Save a lot as our neighbours have just been given a bill for £1000 to remove a total of eight branches from various trees. Best of all we have had to clear up their mess thanks to Hurricane whatever her name is. We were thinking of having our two eighty foot limes pollarded - think it would be cheaper to go on a rock climbing course and do it myself.

[Nicos]

Hi there- and welcome to the Vine!

Yup- this is an exceptionally friendly/helpful forum

The old perry trees are in desperate decline in the UK. They live for about 300 years!! I'm glad you want to try and preserve it, because if you are successful then your neighbours may follow suite!

We're in the process of buying the field at the back of our property ( in France) and it contains about 15 very old perry trees.
At the moment all we can hear ( apart from the geese and hens) is the thudding of tiny pears falling to the ground!
We don't have many wasps here as we have hornets which attack and kill the wasps in their nests.

I can sympathise though re wasps in the fruit.

Pollarding sounds a much more 'natural' process of fruit control but it does need doing regularly ( ??yearly) although I suspect only the first year would be the most expensive session.
I wonder if a surgeon would give a reduced rate if two or three of you got together and had theirs done at the same time???

As northepaul suggests- can you include your location in your profile- there may be other Grapes near you who can help out more directly .