How to Enjoy Better Pear Production This Year

Who doesn't love a juicy pear? Having a pear tree in your yard allows you to enjoy this luscious fruit at its freshest, but sadly, many homeowners are displeased with unproductive pear trees. If your pear tree has been producing few or no pears, don't dismay. Here are a few steps you can take to improve pear production this next growing season.

Mulch has a number of benefits that help improve tree health and boost pear production. Mulch helps to:

Many homeowners assume that once a pear tree is established, it does not require watering, since the roots are deep enough to extract water from far beneath the ground's surface. But this is not always the case. Pear trees are quite sensitive to watering, or a lack thereof, and a dry spell with little rain can reduce fruit production if you don't supply some supplemental water.

Pear trees that are never pruned do not grow well, and they don't generate new, fresh branches to bear fruit. Un-pruned trees are also more likely to suffer broken branches, and broken branches put them at risk for infections that can reduce fruit production.

You may avoid spraying your tree because you want to grow your pears as naturally as possible. However, if your pear production is lacking or your pears are riddled with spots, you may have to resort to fungicide and insecticide sprays to boost production. Start spraying the tree in early spring, before the buds break, and continue spraying it approximately every 10 days until harvest.

In order to produce fruit, the flowers on your pear tree must be pollinated with pollen from a different pear tree. If there are pear trees down the road or across town, your pear tree may be receiving some pollen from them — but you can boost pear production by planing a second pear tree, known as a pollinating partner, in your own yard. A pollinating partner won't improve tree health, per say, but it will improve fruit production.