Hello neighbor! I'm in Hillsboro. I planted some apples and pears this last spring for doing espalier. I did the apples on M9 and the pears on Quince C. For the length between the trees it depends on what style of pruning you plan on doing. I'm just doing the cordon style, so planted mine 8 or so feet apart (so each side branch can reach out 4ft). You can do more or less. Just depends on the style and how short you keep the branches trimmed. I have 6 trees planted in about a 50 ft row. Before next spring I'll put up a support fence. Many ways to do that and in the way long run they should hold themselves up. I've done hours of online research on doing espaliers and really haven't found an all inclusive resource that explains it all. Just some here, some there. If anyone has one let us know!
~jerilee

I have both a Bartlett and a Seckel pear. Nobody in my house will eat a Bartlett as long as they can get their hands on a ripe Seckel instead.

I don't know how well a Seckel would can. The flesh is very tender and smooth, so it might not hold up to extended cooking. I'll be baking with Seckels for the first time today That's not canning, but at least I'll know if they disintegrate with heat.

Seckel makes a really dandy dried pear.

If you are going to can apples, you need an apple that holds it's shape with long cooking. The cooking apples that I am growing are Newton Pippin and Belle de Boskoop (no fruit, yet). I've decided to order a Swaar, which is a heavy apple, so I expect it to cook well.

All the three above are storage apples, so no need to can them if you have some way to keep them cool to store them.

I just made a pear upside down cake, and the Seckels taste divine, but they got very soft and didn't hold their shape. I don't think they are at all suitable for canning unless you are planning on doing pear sauce or pear butter.

Note on Seckel: not a cooking pear.

My Bosc had fruit 3 years after planting, the Seckel, 5 years.

I inherited my Bartlett and it was nearly dead, literally 3 leaves on the tree. It was at least 6 years old, and 6 years later (making it at least 12 ), I just got my first fruit off of it. It's finally starting to grow and is now up to 4 1/2 feet tall.

Apple trees fruit anywhere from 3 years to 5 years after planting.

There are a few honey bees in the area, and there are some other wild bees and different pollinators. I do planting specifically to provide a long flower season to feed the bees. I want to make sure they both live and see my place as a good place to keep included in their route.