I really wanted to say more in my post, but was having app problems!

This pear tree is very large. Last year - my first summer here - it had almost no fruit. We tried pruning it some this spring, and it is loaded now.

I'm also wondering how to know when to pick the fruit.

i dont know the variety ...

but in general.. pears do not ripen on the tree ... and fall off the tree rock hard .... and then we would put them on the picnic table.. in october.. and in a few weeks they would soften and ripen ... if the dog kept the squirrels away from them ... lol ...

lets see if anyone agrees ...

the reason we let them fall.. was because the tree was to large to take them down ...

you might want to research timing of pruning .... if no one can tell you here ...

ken

Ken is correct. You pick the fruits when they are ready and let them ripen off the tree. I have a pear and we don't pick until October when fruits start to fall off the tree. You are in a warmer zone so the timing may be different but when the fruits start to drop on their own, it is time. Lay them out in a single layer to ripen.

As with most fruiting trees, some years are really bountiful and others are lighter harvests. It is never exactly the same twice with Mother Nature.

Researching pruning for pear trees is wise as each type of tree has best practices for fruit production. As for variety, you will be able to have a better guess when the fruit is mature.

Thanks to both of you for the good info. I hope there will be some pears left by the time they are ready to harvest. The squirrels are having great fun taking a bit out of each pear and then dropping them to the ground.

I have cedars with rust, and a few of the pears also seem to have it. Is this something the tree will just live with and still produce some good fruit and some bad fruit, or is the rust likely to take over completely? (lost the photo of the pear with rust - here's the cedar)

Maybe the fruiting this year was due to variations in weather. And - yes - some varieties of orchard fruit trees vary in how much they bear from year to year anyway, with heavy cropping one year followed by a recovery period when comparatively few fruits may be seen.

Need for storage of European pears varies with cultivar, popular 'Bartlett' for instance is eaten right off the tree. Those kinds that must be ripened in storage are picked well before they start dropping from the tree in autumn, by which time it is too late.

Orchard fruit cultivars are identified using characters like both the outside and inside appearance of the fruits, as well as aroma, taste and texture of the flesh. If a fruit enthusiast group show is held in your area while you still have examples of the fruits of this tree on hand you might try taking multiple different ones - one or a few may often not be enough to see the full range of features - there to see if you can get it named.

If you have pears that are not ripe enough to eat, the ripening process will be much faster if you put them in a paper bag for a couple of days. The ethylene gas they naturally produce is then captured, and speeds up the ripening process. That also works for other fruits that your local market is selling too green.

Single layer is still important for the fruit, paper bags or not, as pears get quite soft when ripe.