Pears grow fast here

[Native Hunter]

I planted these two pears in 2014. They were about chest high when planted.

First is a Gate and second is a Senator Clark.

 

[lakngolf]

Wow those pears are enjoying some KY soil. Do they have a view of the barns?

 

[Native Hunter]

Wow those pears are enjoying some KY soil. Do they have a view of the barns?

They do have a good view of them Lak. They also have some others nearby to keep them company. I didn't do any tree planting in that area of the farm until 2014 but getting a good variety going now. That includes a few apples and crabapples.

 

[dogdoc]

My experience is they are much faster growers than apples,less issues, but almost impossible to keep pruned by the book. They are also quicker to produce then my apples planted at the same time. I have about 15 I am over wintering that were grafted with many of the varieties you sent me last year. I have at least 2 of every variety you sent me. My only issues I have had with my pears is they are early to bloom and very susceptible to late freezes


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[Native Hunter]

My experience is they are much faster growers than apples,less issues, but almost impossible to keep pruned by the book. They are also quicker to produce then my apples planted at the same time. I have about 15 I am over wintering that were grafted with many of the varieties you sent me last year. I have at least 2 of every variety you sent me. My only issues I have had with my pears is they are early to bloom and very susceptible to late freezes

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That sounds good Todd and glad they worked for you.

I also worry about freezes and early blooming, but I seem to get good crops on most mature trees every year.

 

[dogdoc]

One of my original pears. It’s a kieffer planted 11/2013. It’s a Home Depot tree

 

[Native Hunter]

One of my original pears. It’s a kieffer planted 11/2013. It’s a Home Depot tree View attachment 11268

That's a good looking pear that has grown well. Your soil in the background looks like mine right now - waterlogged.

 

[1yellowdog]

DogDoc and NatvieHunter - do you do any type of pruning with your pears? I have 15 pear trees in the ground. All are northern hardy varieties from Morse Nursery in MI. Everyone of my pears were around 12-18" when I put in the ground. Now they are almost 4'. I am heading up north tomorrow to prune my mature apple trees, but I am curious on whether I should bring pruning my young pear trees?

 

[Native Hunter]

DogDoc and NatvieHunter - do you do any type of pruning with your pears? I have 15 pear trees in the ground. All are northern hardy varieties from Morse Nursery in MI. Everyone of my pears were around 12-18" when I put in the ground. Now they are almost 4'. I am heading up north tomorrow to prune my mature apple trees, but I am curious on whether I should bring pruning my young pear trees?

I do some pruning but not like with apple trees. I like for the limbs to start about 4 feet off the ground, and I will cut off any limbs that are pointing inward toward the center of the tree. When I prune a limb, I cut it so that there is an outward facing bud too. That is about all I do to pears in the way of pruning.

 

[dogdoc]

Yes, first decent rain in about 3 months. Much needed.

I did pruning when they were younger but finally gave up on the pear trees. I’m just letting Mother Nature take over. I still prune my apples though.


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[Native Hunter]

Yes, first decent rain in about 3 months. Much needed.

I did pruning when they were younger but finally gave up on the pear trees. I’m just letting Mother Nature take over. I still prune my apples though.

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Yes, I forgot to mention that there eventually comes a point with a pear tree that I just forget pruning. All the pruning I do on them are in the first 5 years or so.

 

[pinetag]

I'm new to this whole tree planting thing so forgive my ignorance but can a Bartlett and Keifer pollinate each other? I bought one of each and put them in the ground this past weekend. I was thinking about trying to train the branches but based on what I've seen here as well as in some other threads, it doesn't look like too many people train pear trees. So should I just prune occasionally? Spacing on these is about 15 feet apart.

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[buckdeer1]

That is the min I would plant apart.I wish most of mine were further apart

 

[Native Hunter]

I'm new to this whole tree planting thing so forgive my ignorance but can a Bartlett and Keifer pollinate each other? I bought one of each and put them in the ground this past weekend. I was thinking about trying to train the branches but based on what I've seen here as well as in some other threads, it doesn't look like too many people train pear trees. So should I just prune occasionally? Spacing on these is about 15 feet apart.

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They will pollinate each other. I do a little pruning on pears but not much. Maybe take out a few limbs here and there to keep them from rubbing.

 

[Neahawg]

Also depending on your location watch the Bartlett pear as they are considered to be fireblight magnets

 

[Worm]

PInetag
I used to occasionally prune some of my interior vertical shoots. I must be getting lazy in my old age ,as its been a long time since I took a pair of pruners to any of my pears.I find, its way too much work.
I'm in Virginia also. I have quite a few Kieffers and one Bartlett. I purchased the Bartlett many years ago,when I first started planting trees and knew what fireblight was .
My Bartlett usually gets fairly heavy fireblight strikes most years but has survived .It t is a heavy producer. However, I would not purchase another one .My Kieffers get some blight but not a big issue. I just cut out the infected branches during the winter.
Other pear varieties that you might consider are Ayers, potomac, and plumblee.There are also some late dropping varieties from some of the wildlife nurseries.
I would also space my pears at least 20 to 25 feet apart.
Worm

 

[Nebraskaz71]

I have one kieffer at the moment, ill prune a few branches but thats about it. Ordered 2 ayers from turkeycreek though.

 

[THE LLC]

My kieffers get EAT UP with fireblight. I've cut most of them down.

 

[TreeDaddy]

My experience as well ^^^^^^^

They are touted as blight resistant but i lost 4 last year

bill

 

[buckvelvet]

Really? Are you guys sure they were Kieffer? That does seem extremely odd....

I mean random stuff can certainly happen with nature but still...