Growing pears in shade?

[seneca196]

I recently came across an article by Bob Flowerdew in an old gardening magazine in which some asked for advice on what fruit they could grow in shade. He suggested pears were a possibility, as they could be ripened in a bowl after picking. Whilst he said they would not achieve the taste of one that had grown in full sun, they would not be very different to similar supermarket pears, if marginally better. You'd sacrifice flavor, but have something you'd grown yourself. What do you folk think? The reasoning sounds plausible and quite sound, and who am I to question him, but it still sounds odd. Has anyone any experience of any similar shade experiments? Someone once told me something similar with a gage fan trained against a shaded wall. Again, less flavor, but still viable fruit that ripened on a warm windowsill a while later.

I'm considering planting a cordon or two of pears and seeing what happens. Worst case, I'll dig them up in a few years and replant them in a sunnier border... if things do/don't go pear shaped!
(I'll also write an indignant letter to dear old Bob, telling him his advice was lousy!)

[FB.]

It would be very dependent on the variety you choose.
I tried a Grenadier and Golden Delicious apple in about three-quarters shade. The Grenadier was fine and cropped normally (fruit were smaller than usual) but the Golden Delicious stopped flowering after the first year.

With most varieties you should expect the tree to produce a lot less blossom because sunshine encourages flower bud formation for the following year.
Fruit is likely to be smaller because the tree can't photosynthesise as well in shade as in sun.

Varieties which are known to do well in cooler/less sunny/Northern regions would have the best chance of producing a worthwhile crop.

[orangepippin]

I don't think I would try pears in this situation, notwithstanding the point that you can ripen them indoors after picking. I would choose plums such as Herman or Czar, or early-season apples such as Discovery or Katy (or Grenadier as FB suggests) which can ripen with less light.

[rosiepumpkin]

I have a pear growing under a fully mature massive discovery with a huge horse chestnut on the other side. It gets morning sun only from one side. It's conference and crops but not many and small.

[seneca196]

Sounds like the tree is up against it. It helps that it's a conference I suppose, as they are the most reliable of croppers amongst pears. Tried ripening them in a bowl?