caring for keiffer & orient pear trees

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AwShucks Houston, TX(Zone 8b) Jun 12, 2010

I have two 25-year-old pear trees-- Keiffer and Orient. There are pears on them right now - usually ripe around July 4, or just after. They've never had any special care. Some years are better than others. I want to thin out the dead branches and then get on a fertilization schedule so they'll produce more. Any advice?

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jujubetexas San Marcos, TX(Zone 8b) Jun 12, 2010

It is amazing that you actually get enough chill hours in the winter to get crops. This was a very cold winter and that is why many are getting larger crops.

I only prune in the winter to avoid stressing the tree.

Be careful over-fertilizing the tree. I gave too much fertilizer to some of my pears this Spring and had a Fire Blight issue with the new growth. You could start out with cow manure top dressings as it is hard to use too much cow manure.

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AwShucks Houston, TX(Zone 8b) Jun 12, 2010

Hi! Thanks for the advice. I have access to a pasture with old cow manure -- would it be OK to spread this summer? Or, should I wait until after harvest? The trees are actually located about 70 miles north of Houston, in zone 8b -- there were 3 snows there this winter! Hard to imagine, now...with 100+ heat index. One tree has more fruit than the other. I can't remember which one is Keiffer or Orient. ha! They look very similar. Any clues as to how I can tell the trees apart? They're both very hard pears, not real good for eating out of hand, but they're good for preserves.

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Dlmcgrw Colton, CA(Zone 8b) Jun 13, 2010

AwShucks, I am not familiar with either of the two varieties you have, but as I understand it all European should be picked hard, not tree ripened. They then go into a refrigerator for about two weeks to ripen and sweeten up. Leaving them on a window sill won't work, they need refrigeration. You might want to give it a try with a few of your fruits and see what happens.

I have four varieties of Asian Pear and of course you let them tree ripen but they are still about the consistency and texture of an apple. But very sweet and very juicy.

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