Pear tree looks "loaded" *PICS ADDED*

[Cassandra]

Loaded: that was always what my grandmother used to call a tree that was just dripping with fruit.

Last year, I planted a kieffer pear tree. It is seven or so feet tall now. My guess is it is probably four years old, but I don't know that much about them.

Anyway, last month, the tree was covered with white blossoms. And now it is "loaded" with small fruits--a little smaller than marbles. It's like each little stem almost has three or more tiny pears.

I am wondering if, since the tree is so young and small, it would be wise to thin this fruit any? Should I just leave it alone? Or would it make better mature fruit if I pluck off a few, leaving more room for the others to grow.

I have a quince tree also. (man I LOVE quince!) It is a big grown up tree. Year before last, it had so much fruit on it that one of the limbs broke, it was so heavy. I picked as many as I could use and lots of them rotted on the ground. Last year, however, there were only five on the whole tree. This is pretty normal, right? Trees will produce better some years than others. I know quince are related to pears. The quince tree was covered with blossoms this year. I hope we have another bumper crop. I have learned about quince jelly and want to try some!

I don't want my baby pear tree to break any limbs. It only has four or five so far. LOL

Any pear experts out there?
Thanks.
Cassandra

 

[patandchickens]

I was brought up believing you should thin fruits on young trees, 'young' meaning 'small enough that thinning them is not so large a job that you'd rather just go back inside and lie down instead'

Really if it is *young* young you might want to thin it down to only a few fruits. Of course many are likely to self-thin even if you do nothing, but it's nicer to the tree not to make it carry so many that far, if you ask me.


Pat

 

[Rosalind]

Yep. Thin to, oh, 3 or so pears per branch, depending on the size of the branch. Kieffers should properly make pears about like an Anjou.

Sadly the only use for the pears you remove will be, um, gravel. I suppose they might compost eventually, in the fullness of time.

 

[Cassandra]

Added some pics. Check out my itty bitty pears.


whole tree. bout seven feet tall.

close ups with pears.

 

[Rosalind]

Thin those at least to one per cluster. More if there seem to be lots of clusters per branch.