Pears

Pears usually do best in high chill climates. I have a European French butter type pear that does very well. With reshaping and basic care, it is doing very well. There was an abundance of fruit last year.

Fruit bears from spurs. Developing these spurs is part of the initial years of shaping. Each year the tall branches are cut back to spurs. Branches should not be so tall that fruit cannot be reached. Keep this little paperback handy How to Prune Fruit Trees by R. Sanford Martin (1944).

The fruit should be picked just before ripe when a little hard. the ripen very well inside, and this way the squirrels will not damage them. They are so juicy and wonderful!

They should be allowed to get a little soft when the color changes slightly from real green to a paler green.

I get a very little black leaf wilt called fire blight in early Spring. It does not seem to be a problem even though it is a disease and can spread into the trunks. It can be treated every year, but I have not.

This site is an excellent source of information.

http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/general-tree.html/