Q&A – Is there a pear tree that requires minimum maintenance?
Question:
Around some of the old homes in town there are very old pear trees that seem to provide reliable, abundant and delicious fruit with hardly any spraying or maintenance involved. Is there an old-fashioned pear tree that requires minimum maintenance?
Answer:
There are some old pear trees around that do not ever seem to get some of the diseases and blights common to pears. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison says he does not know exactly why. He thinks the trees are probably Bartlett or Kieffer pears. He speculates that they may stay disease free because they are far enough away from other pear trees that they are not infected. He has Kieffer pears in this orchard and they are not disease free.
Related Resources
Home Garden Pears
Growing Fruits: Growing Pears in a Home Orchard
Around some of the old homes in town there are very old pear trees that seem to provide reliable, abundant and delicious fruit with hardly any spraying or maintenance involved. Is there an old-fashioned pear tree that requires minimum maintenance?
Answer:
There are some old pear trees around that do not ever seem to get some of the diseases and blights common to pears. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison says he does not know exactly why. He thinks the trees are probably Bartlett or Kieffer pears. He speculates that they may stay disease free because they are far enough away from other pear trees that they are not infected. He has Kieffer pears in this orchard and they are not disease free.
Related Resources
Home Garden Pears
Growing Fruits: Growing Pears in a Home Orchard