cold stimulus
Pear trees (pyrus communis) require cold winters because they need a cold stimulus and yet they long for a warmer and more sheltered place than apple trees.
Because pear trees blossom before apple trees do, inclement weather during blossoming can cause problems with pollination with a lower yield as a consequence.
For pear trees there is less choice of rootstock than there is for apple trees.
Pear trees follow the same growth method as apples and also bear fruit on wood of 2 years and older. A pear tree grows more straight than an apple tree. Without pruning regularly it becomes a mess.
winter pruning
All pear trees require winter pruning.
The winter pruning consists of the thinning of the spores and now and then remove large branches to give young growth a chance.
Without regularly thinning the spores they become too large and limit the fruit development. For old trees the best way to create a gap is by removing complete spore systems with the saw or branch shear.
summer pruning
As for apple trees only required for slate trees
fertilising
Pear trees require more nitrogen than apple trees and that is the reason why fertilisation during spring and after pruning is recommended.
species
I have 2 pear trees: doyenné du comice and durondeau
