Can anyone tell me a pear tree growing guide

So I am getting 1 Comice, 1 Warren and 1 magness pear in the spring. I was wondering how do you grow pears? Is there sprays mandatory for them like a peach or a cherry? When I look up pear trees on youtube pruning guilds just show up and when I search pear growing guild permaculture stuff comes up.

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Maybe you intend to search for ā€œguideā€ rather than ā€œguildā€?

Pears grow pretty easily on their own. Just make sure to follow a fruit tree planting guide and water appropriately the first year.

Biggest thing unique to pears is that they REALLY like to grow vertically so you should focus on spreading branches and pruning to reduce upright growth the first two years unless you want to be harvesting on a ladder.

You donā€™t need to worry about spraying until you get fruit and see what your pest pressure is like.

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I grafted many (20+) varieties of Asian and Euro pears to my existing pear trees. I have noticed that all have overlapping bloom time. This happens to pears grown in colder zones like zone 6 and lower.

I have Magness that has set fruit and Warren that has not had a single bloom after 6 years.

I donā€™t think you will have a problem with bloom time for cross pollination. The problem will be how long it will take for your Warren to start blooming. Maybe, your Magness and Comice could produce the same year. I just grafted Comice this year.

Have you used the forumā€™s search function ?
It is the looking glass symbol on the top right corner. If you put in key word like Warren pear, you will get several threads about it.

I tag @clarkinks for you. Clark grows a lot of pears.

The biggest issue for pears are fire blight. The rest are not as bad.

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Yeah I have searched for Warren Pear. It sounds like it takes quite a bit of time before either warren or magness produce fruit. Someone said it was something like 4 years on quince rootstock.

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@elivings1

Some pears do not require great skill to grow. @mamuang and I know Warren, potomac, ayers, Harrow delight, Harrow sweet are relatively disease resistant and easy to grow. There is little more to growing them than digging a hole wide and deep enough for the roots to be spread out. Itā€™s best to plant the pears with a few bucket full of compost or aged cow manure mixed in. I like to top dress young pear trees with several inches of wood chips on top of the ground 3 feet around them to keep the roots moist. Watering pears that first year once in awhile is very important to the trees long term success. Pears such as Bartlett aka Williams, anjou , bosc, comice can be alot of work. They grow well in locations free of fireblight. If you grow the wrong type of pear for your location it can be a lot of work and the work be for nothing. Many pears such as doyenne comice or concord require a location free of fireblight to be successful. Most locations have lots of disease so in order to grow pears successfully its best to stick to the disease resistant types. Keep in mind Harrow pears produce very quickly , taste good, and are easy to care for.

Your tree will typically come with a growing guide if ordered from a place like Starks or gurneys. Typically the guide says the same thing which is

" Soil pH. Pears grow best in slightly acidic soils with a pH ranging from 6 to 7. Before planting your tree, you should consider doing a soil test to determine the pH of your soil and amending it to meet the needs of your pear trees. Because we have an apple tree successfully growing 15 feet away from where we planted to the first pear tree and 30 feet from the second, weā€™re confident our soil pH will meet the needs of the new trees.

Drainage. Pear trees prefer well-drained soil where water does not stand for long after it rains. We planted our trees in an area with a natural mixture of clay and sand soils and backfilled each hole with the soil from the buckets the trees came in from the nursery.

Choose a sunny location. Plant your pear trees in a sunny location to maximize fruit production. Additionally, make sure the area offers good air circulation. Locations away from other trees and large structures are ideal.

Ensuring pollination for fruit production. You have to plant at least two varieties of pear trees, to ensure cross-pollination and fruit production. The trees should be spaced 15-20 feet apart when planted. Lastly, make sure the varieties you choose are compatible with each other."

" After youā€™ve met all the growing requirements, youā€™re ready to plant your pear trees. Pear trees should be planted during the spring in a location that meets all of the above needs.

Dig a hole no deeper than each treeā€™s root ball and about twice as wide. Mix in compost and peat moss or other organic matter with the soil you removed from the hole so that it makes up about 30% of whatā€™s being backfilled. Before you backfill the hole be sure roots are straightened out rather than bent, in a circle or ā€˜Jā€™ shape. Also, make sure the tree is straight. It may take two people ā€” one to hold the tree and one to backfill. When you backfill the hole make sure the soil reaches the same spot on the trunk as it did when the tree was in its container. The graft union ā€” the swollen area where the trunk meets the rootstock. As you backfill, remove air pockets as you fill in with dirt. Once the hole is completely filled, tamp the surface dirt down gently and water the tree thoroughly. If the soil settles, add soil later to ensure itā€™s at the appropriate level.

Producing Fruit

It will take 4-6 years for your pear trees to produce fruit. However, meeting all your treeā€™s growing requirements from the start will improve your yields in the future. After planting perform regular spring pruning and periodically check soil quality to ensure optimal growth and eventual fruit production." - How to plant pear trees to produce fruit - Farm and Dairy

So your likely going to ask but what if you love comice and your heart is set on it? You certainly can spray with copper or antibiotics to inhibit bacteria growth aka fireblight and other diseases. It can be done itā€™s just much more work. Iā€™m not the type to tell anyone what to do but rather giving you options. By the way my soil is very alkaline and my pears grow great here contrary to the guides saying otherwise. Iā€™ve never found pears to be picky. Plan to protect your pears with fencing over winter from rabbits , voles, rats and other rodents who will chew around the bottom of the tree and killing it. Rodents are not the only problem pears will need fenced off from deer and other animals. Some locations have pests such as porcupine, bear, moose, elk and the list goes on. Your orchard may need fortifications which are best to have in place before you plant.

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I did not know that Comice was susceptible to fire blight. I changed it to Dutchess.

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Also it sounds like it will not have a issue pollinating the magness or Warren right?

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This will get you started on matching pear pollination Online pollination checker for fruit trees

Type in the pear you want and it will locate pollination partners

As an example Harrow delight is part of flowering group 3

So orangepippin will tell you these Varieties that will pollinate Harrow Delight in their catalog are

Check pollinators >

An early-season American pear variety, related to Bartlett but with an improved flavor and better storage.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Early

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Vigorous

  • Bartlett

Check pollinators >

A classic English pear, easy to grow, and a good flavor.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Partially self-fertile

  • Picking: Early

  • Brandy

Check pollinators >

A mid-season English perry pear which produces a low-tannin juice.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Late

  • Butt

Check pollinators >

Butt is a traditional English perry pear, with medium acidity and medium tannins.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Late

  • Flemish Beautyin stock

Check pollinators >

A traditional European pear from Belgium, with the classic rich sweet buttery melting flesh. Flemish Beauty is also self-fertile and cold-hardy.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Self-fertile

  • Picking: Mid

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Semi-dwarf

  • Gin

Check pollinators >

A rare English perry pear variety with good disease resistance and medium acid and tannins.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Very late

  • Harrow Crispin stock

Check pollinators >

An attractive disease-resistant early-season pear with an orange flushed yellow skin, related to Bartlett and with a similar flavor.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Early

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Semi-vigorous

  • Harrow Sweet

Check pollinators >

A disease-resistant heavy-cropping late-season pear with an excellent sweet flavor for eating fresh.

Check pollinators >

A well-known English perry pear variety, and a reliable cropper. Makes a light, low-tannin perry.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Late

  • Honeysweetin stock

Check pollinators >

Honeysweet is a self-fertile small late-season sweet pear, with buttery flesh, related to Seckel.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Self-fertile

  • Picking: Late

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Semi-vigorous

  • Hosuiin stock

Check pollinators >

Hosui has perhaps the best flavor of any Asian pear - it is very juicy and very sweet.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Early

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Semi-vigorous

  • Vigorous

  • Korean Giant

Check pollinators >

Korean Giant has potentially the largest fruits of any Asian pear variety.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Late

  • Moonglow

Check pollinators >

A high quality early season dessert and culinary pear, very resistant to fireblight.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Good pollinator

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Early

  • Niitakain stock

Check pollinators >

Niitaka is an Asian pear variety producing very large crisp russeted fruits.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Mid

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Vigorous

  • Potomac

Check pollinators >

Check pollinators >

A natural sport of Clappā€™s Favorite pear, also known as Kalle. The pears are deep red color with a sweet flavor, ripening in late summer.

  • Flowering group: 4

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Early

  • Shenandoahin stock

Check pollinators >

Shenandoah is a late-season Bartlett-style pear, with a rich sweet/sharp flavor.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Late

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Semi-vigorous

  • Shinkoin stock

Check pollinators >

A classic Asian pear, with large golden brown russeted fruits which have a crisp sweet flesh.

  • Flowering group: 2

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Late

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Vigorous

  • Shinseikiin stock

Check pollinators >

This popular early-season Asian pear variety produces crisp sweet-flavored pears, which can be kept for up to 3 months.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Partially self-fertile

  • Picking: Early

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Semi-vigorous

  • Vigorous

  • Shinsuiin stock

Check pollinators >

A popular and productive early-season Asian pear with a glowing golden brown skin and a sweet flavor.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Early

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Vigorous

  • Winnals Longdonin stock

Check pollinators >

A traditional English perry pear variety, which produces a low tannin perry.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking: Late

  • Available rootstocks:

  • Semi-vigorous

  • Yellow Huffcap

Check pollinators >

A popular English perry pear which produces a good quality low-tannin / medium-acid perry.

  • Flowering group: 3

  • Not self-fertile

  • Picking:

  • Yoinashiin stock

Check pollinators >

Yoinashi is a mid-season Asian pear, with large golden brown russeted fruits.

  • Flowering group: 3
  • Not self-fertile
  • Picking: Mid
  • Available rootstocks:
  • Semi-vigorous

I found that website. The issues I have found is they donā€™t have certain pears. They donā€™t have Warren or Ayerā€™s for example and those were the ones I decided to go with.

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You can use other sites for that as an example
Resized_Screenshot_20211010-214017_368498383330208(1)
Even on this site there are charts and discussions Search results for 'Pear pollination' - Growing Fruit
Some of the pears your interested in will reportedly produce fruit without pollination as discussed here is the case with ayers Parthenocarpic Pears

Isnā€™t turnbull giant bigger than Korean giant.

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Its my understanding Both can be very large. Some of my Korean Giant are very large. Wouldnā€™t know myself about Turnbull but have read great posts about themā€¦ Here is what some fruits look like you are thinking of growing so you have an idea of times and size of fruits. Others are posted as well Here comes the 2019 pear harvest!. From 2015 to today I have recorded a great deal of my pear research on this website. If large pears are your thing we have discussed it before Largest / Best tasting pear and there are many threads on KG like this one Korean Giant Asian pear or you can search for all the threads on KG Search results for 'Korean giant' - Growing Fruit and Turnbull Search results for 'Turnbull' - Growing Fruit use the magnifying glass at the top to find even more.

Also with the comice I have been doing research. Some say comice is susceptible while others claim it is not. A good example is Raintree claims it is fire blight resistant on their website. I even saw there was a post on here about it. There was people in my area (Denver region) claiming they had several trees and nothing happened. Same with someone in VA. Other people claimed they had issues with it. It is not just Raintree Nursery I have found that says this claim. Other websites claim it has at least some resistance. Then like I said there are websites that claim little to no resistance.

Doyenne du Comice and regular comice seem different or maybe itā€™s just a climate issue. I have only had extremely minimal strikes on my doyenne and it has flowered for four or five years now.

As far as guild goes comfrey, lavender, geranium, catmint, garlicā€¦

I saw that someone thought there could be two different comice pears as well. Raintree stated that they get their information from at least two sources so the information is correct as far as they know. A guild on pears. That is kind of hour this discussion started. Clark mentioned certain pears are low maintenance while others are high maintenance. He said the low ones you kind of just put in ground while the ones susceptible to fire blight will need spraying. From past posts it does sound like you are from around Colorado. Do you know what I would have to do for pear trees in Colorado specifically?

Personally I would avoid trees who have issues with fireblight but my assumption is I got my doyenne du comice from raintree but maybe it was from one green world. Itā€™s been a fantastic tree that has been no spray most years. I started organic and with my free time have converted to no spray.

Fireblight and Japanese beetles have been my biggest obstacles here since I am not concerned with cm and amino acids in my apples. I do happen to be a fifth generation coloradoan and all of those generations had orchards or backyard orchards

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@elivings1 ā€” examples of fruit tree guildsā€¦(permaculture)ā€¦

image
The one above is a Edible Fruit Tree Guildā€¦

image
Herbalā€¦

image
Flowerā€¦

I am sure you could mix those up and have a Edible, Herbal, Flower guild.

I have Strawberries, Raspberries, Goumi, Dill, Basil growing in my food forest bed (around my fruit trees)ā€¦ hope to add some Egyptian walking onions, garlic chives, comfrey, lemon balm, perhaps peppermint in the near future.

I donā€™t spray so no worries growing other stuff near my fruit treesā€¦

Good Luck !

TNHunter

I personally grow comice it is one of the least resistant of my pears to fireblight.

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