Botany classifies the pear as a dicotyledonous plant, a flower division, and a rose family. The trunk height of most varieties is about 25 m, the crown diameter rarely exceeds 5 m.
In total, more than 5 thousand varieties of pears are known, among which there are long-livers. The average yield per tree is 1 ton of fruits, per hectare - about 5 tons. Depending on preservation and harvesting time, all known types of pears are divided into autumn, winter, and summer.
Fruiting is the main function of this plant. The tree begins to produce harvests approximately 5 years after planting, but it also happens that the pear does not bear fruit at all - let’s take a closer look at the reasons for this phenomenon.
When does the pear tree begin to bear fruit?
After transplanting a seedling to a permanent location, many gardeners expect to harvest the fruits within a couple of years, but this is not always possible. In this case, you need to focus on the variety of fruit crop. Pears begin to bear fruit on average 4-6 years after planting.
The Annushka variety is the earliest in this regard. Fruits appear on seedlings 1-2 years after planting. Most varieties bloom in the 4th year. Fruiting is possible both in the year of flowering and the next. Varieties Bergamot, Duchess, Forest Beauty begin to bear fruit only 6-8 years after planting. The Ussuri pear can begin to please you with its harvest in 15-20 years.
Advice from experienced gardeners
To the question: “Why doesn’t the pear blossom and what to do about it?” Experienced summer residents will always have useful recommendations. Most experts advise buying seedlings with a closed root system. This is very important, because it is difficult for a pear to take root in a new place. Until the plant takes root thoroughly, it needs the most careful care for the first 2-3 years.
Growing a pear tree, which seems difficult, can become your favorite pastime. Even if the first experience is unsuccessful, you should not give up right away. The reward for your patience and work will be juicy, fragrant fruits.
How many years does it take for a pear tree to bear fruit?
The lifespan and duration of the fruiting phase of pears greatly depends on the variety, growing conditions and care. On average, this fruit crop bears fruit for up to 40 years. After 20 years, the fruits become much smaller, they become smaller. Many pears live up to 80 years and during this time they bear fruit.
Dwarf, columnar trees bear much less fruit. They bloom in the 2nd year after being planted in a permanent place, but after 10-12 years they stop blooming. The lifespan of such trees is 12-15 years.
Fertilizers
Every fruit-bearing tree requires fertilizer. The most common is manure.
It happens that when the soil is oversaturated, a pear produces a regular harvest, and then suddenly stops bearing fruit. It continues to bloom profusely, but there is no fruit at all, in this case the tree is oversaturated. You need to slowly stop fertilizing.
How to fertilize
Manure is the main supplier of nitrogen to the soil, but this is not enough for good fruiting. Pear trees also need fertilizers, which include phosphorus and potassium. The best option would be granular fertilizers, which are applied to a depth of 20-25 cm and covered with soil on top.
When to fertilize
It is best to fertilize the plant in spring. The first flower buds form in mid-summer. It is better to plan so that by this time all applied fertilizers are used up.
Why the pear does not bloom or bear fruit: reasons
The absence of flowers and fruits on a tree cannot but upset. Sometimes a seedling does not bear fruit for a long time due to natural reasons, but more often this is caused by errors in care, improper planting, and lack of pollinators. The problem can be eliminated if it is sorted out in time.
Poor quality seedlings
The dishonesty of the seller may cause the purchased tree to fail to bloom and bear fruit. If a pear does not bear fruit 5-6 years after transplanting the seedling to a permanent place, perhaps it is not a varietal, but a wild specimen. “Wildflowers” do not bloom for a long time. After a while they begin to bloom, but produce very small, sour fruits. Such pears are tasteless and are not suitable for making jams and preserves.
When purchasing, you should take a closer look at the seedling. The varietal tree has a visible graft, which should be located above the root collar. The trunk of such seedlings is smooth, without thorns. If the tree has already been planted, and the gardener finds out that he planted a “wild” tree in the 2nd or 3rd year, you can try to make a graft. If more than 6 years pass after planting, it is too late to graft the pear. It is better to uproot it and plant a varietal seedling.
Incorrect variety selected
When choosing a seedling, you should definitely check the variety. It would also be useful to know how many years it takes for a tree to bear fruit. Sometimes a long absence of flowering and fruit is not a violation, but is considered a feature of the variety. The following varieties of pears begin to produce crops early:
- Honey;
- Chizhovskaya;
- Lada;
- Muscovite.
Some trees begin to bloom only after 6-7 years. These varieties include:
- Duchess;
- Michurinskaya beauty;
- Leningradskaya.
The varieties Bere Slutskaya and Bere Ardanpon have the latest period of fruiting. Having planted such trees on your site, the harvest can only be expected after 8-9 years.
Violation of landing rules
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When planting trees on a site, you need to choose the right place and not violate the planting technology. Pears grow well on podzolic loams. They can bloom and bear fruit in slightly acidic or even acidic soils. Alkaline soil is not suitable for this garden crop. If the litmus test shows an alkaline reaction, the soil must be acidified by adding peat. When planting, the soil should be loose and moist.
Lighting is also important. The crown of the pear is spreading and wide. These trees love light and bloom poorly, bearing fruit in the shade. Some gardeners plant seedlings in the shade of other trees, hoping that over time the pear will outgrow and there will be enough light for it. This is a big mistake. While the tree is shaded, there may not be a harvest.
On a note!
Pears are planted in elevated areas, not in lowlands. Groundwater should lie no higher than 2 m from the surface. The fruit crop grows very poorly next to walnuts.
When planting a seedling, it is worth digging a deep hole so that the roots can be straightened in it. The location of the horse's neck is also of great importance. It should be level with the ground. A strong depression leads to a delay in development and, accordingly, flowering and fruiting. If you place it too high, the risk of freezing of the root system increases.
Improper watering and violation of the feeding schedule
With a lack or excess of moisture, a lack of flowering may occur. Young seedlings need to be watered once a week. If there is a long absence of precipitation in the spring, the grown pears should also be watered.
If the trees bloom, but the fruits do not set, this may be due to a lack of microelements (phosphorus, potassium). Phosphorus-potassium subcortex should be done annually in autumn or spring. After digging the trunk circle, the tree is watered and 60-100 g of superphosphate and 40-80 g of potassium salt are added. The exact amount of chemicals is calculated taking into account the age of the pear. If the tree does not grow or bear fruit, the amount of phosphorus and potassium supplements can be increased by 20-30%. It is also convenient to use complex fertilizers for fruit trees. In this case, you need to take into account the time of year. Autumn fertilizing differs from spring fertilizing in the complete absence of nitrogen components.
On a note!
Manure and bird droppings can be used as nitrogen fertilizers (1 bucket of diluted fertilizer per tree). You should not get carried away with such fertilizers in the first few years of a seedling’s life. In this case, the tree is actively growing, but flowering and fruiting may be delayed.
Lack of boron is expressed in weak flowering and a small number of ovaries. In this case, there may be few fruits, and they will be uneven and small. To correct the situation, at the stage of flower buds blooming, you need to spray the pear with a solution of boric acid (10-15 g per bucket of water). Repeat the treatment after 10 days.
Preventive actions
Having once decided to plant a pear on your plot, you should create conditions under which it will grow, bloom and delight you with its delicious fruits. We list the necessary measures for caring for a pear:
- correct choice of soil without nearby groundwater;
- sufficient sunlight;
- absence of drafts and strong wind;
- timely watering and fertilizing;
- pruning and crown formation according to the rules;
- presence of a pollinator on the site;
- spraying against pests and fungal diseases;
- prevention of death from frost.
All these actions are normal and natural for growing a fruit tree and do not contain anything special that may be beyond the capabilities of a novice amateur gardener.
Prevention of the problem
Many problems can be prevented only through preventive measures. To avoid the lack of flowering and fruiting in pears, you must:
- buy seedlings only in nurseries, and not “from hand”;
- plant trees in elevated open areas;
- do not bury the root collar when planting (if it becomes exposed over time, you can spud the tree);
- do not flood the seedling, but also do not allow the soil to dry out;
- annually apply fertilizer to the tree trunk circle, but without exceeding the recommended dosage;
- plant several pears on the site at once or graft a branch of a different variety onto a tree;
- do not plant corn, sunflowers and other crops that deplete the soil next to pears;
- place trees no closer than 3 m from each other;
- treat the garden with Bordeaux mixture annually, and use insecticides if there are signs of damage.
Planting honey plants (thyme, sweet clover, clover) in the garden has a good effect. These plants attract bees, which has a beneficial effect on the fruiting of trees.
Lack of lighting
There may be mistakes when choosing where to place it on the site. Often, gardeners, given the tallness of the pear and its spreading crown, plant the plant in a shaded area in the hope that the pear will eventually grow and come out of the shadow due to its height. In fact, this is of course logical, but wrong.
During the entire period while the pear grows and, stretching out and often bending, comes out of the shadow, it most likely will not bear fruit, and this period may be ten years or even more. The fact is that the pear is sensitive to lighting; it needs plenty of light; if there is a shortage of it, it will not produce a crop.
Of course, taking into account the not outstanding winter hardiness of the pear, it can be planted under the protection of, for example, the walls of a house, a fence or another large tree with a dense crown, but only if this type of protection from the cold north wind is located exclusively on the north side.
A pear tree may bloom but not bear fruit due to poor pollination.
Freezing of pear trees in winter
Even winter-hardy pear varieties sometimes succumb to the elements. The branches and trunk themselves can cope with sudden frosts, but the ringlets (short fruit branches) freeze due to sudden temperature changes, which means you should not expect flowers next spring.
Ice rains, which have become frequent in recent years in the middle zone, are also destructive for pears - thin branches of young trees crack, and established flower buds die. According to statistics, frost damage appears on a pear tree more often than on an apple tree, and it is mainly the youngest and oldest trees that suffer.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely solve this problem. However, a tree that is properly prepared for wintering, especially one that is covered for the winter, has a much better chance of preserving its buds.
