Hello to who ever may be albe and willing to help me out, I have two european pear trees, don't know the exact strain of pear just that it is a european pear tree.....this is the third spring I have had the trees planted in my garden area. the pear trees are about 12' to 13' tall and have never had a bloom one on them. the pear trees were about 4 and a half feet tall when I planted them wich would make me think they were at lease a year or two old at the time I bought them. so that would make them around 4 to 5 years old. Can anyone tell me how old a pear tree needs to be before they bear fruit....Or if there is something I need to do to help them bear fruit, thanks alot for your possible help, Willy
Has either tree flowered..? They’ll need to do that first. European pears are notorious for ‘shooting to the moon’ growth-wise. Most ‘upward growth’ will be vegetative, not fruit producing. My main concern is training pear trees so the limbs bend out - not level or down - but “out†enough to force them into producing fruit spurs (flowers and fruit). Bending the limbs also causes stress for which the plant responds by setting fruit (seed) … assuming it may die 
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Do they get full sun? Lack of light can be a problem, as when stuck beside a solid fence or tucked under the canopy of a larger tree…
…And if they’re flowering, they’ll need a pollinator… If you don’t know their variety, they could be the same thing, which would not work for pollination. If they are blooming, the bloom-times need to at least be near each other.
THANKS Viron for the info, and with that information I see that the pear trees have alot of strikes against them, I planted them in to shady of a spot (they are not in derect sun light all day only about 66% of the day if that the reason being I had read that they liked simi shaded area) and I need to spred apart the limbs because I have not done that......Also I think they are both the same type of pear tree. Do you think it is to late in the season to get it to bloom if I spreed the limbs now....The leaves are about 50% mature now, and how much of a spreed do I put on the limbs? I pruned the trees this last winter just a little and now you can't even tell I pruned it. Its getting pretty tall and lanky allready this spring......close to 15' now, I plan on pruning the tall high limbs way back next winter to shorten the tree and keep it around ten feet or so for easy picking when and if they ever fruit. It sounds to me from what your telling me the tree kinda has to be coached somewhat to bloom? I really do appreciate your time and information, later willy
My experience with pears would be that the 3rd season from planting is still early to hope for fruit.
My Asian pears bore very quickly, but the other pears have been slower than the stone fruits. I've had peaches and apricots for 3 years now. One pear tree had it's first crop last year and this is the first spring for flowers on the rest of the pears. So, finally I might get to taste what I've got.
I had a decent crop of Bosc last year: several gallons of fruit, even after some pretty heavy thinning. Once the pear trees are old enough, they don't fool around and set much more fruit than their skinny young limbs can hold up. The Bosc got quite tall before it started to bloom. Limbs are still scrawny and have bent in an arc, having been weighted down with the fruit, so the form of the tree is rather unique.
A pear is very heavy and quite a load for a young tree to support.
I've got to give a cheer for the Bosc. It's my favorite pear, anyway, and now that I've had home grown, it is really my super favorite pear.
Thanks to all who tried to help me be informed, I need to be a little more patient for another year I guess. You make it sound pretty good so I think I will try and locate a bosc pear tree and give them a try, I think I should have another strain for good pollination anyway... To all a nice day and a plentiful harvest this year, thanks again, later willy
Willy,
It’s too late to ‘make it bloom,’ but it’s not too late to spread the limbs, or remove some of the highest… Forcing its nutrients to flow ‘sideways’ should create some fruit buds, though I’m not sure how soon they’ll flower…
I believe ‘we’ve’ decided a 60 degree angle from the trunk is about right. Too far and they become spindly due to the fact ‘sap’ doesn’t want to flow away or down. And you’ll need to watch for what’s called a “weak crotch†where the limbs now divide. If you pull apart such a crotch, it will split – leaving an ugly wound and wasting one branch.
As far as the really high limbs; if they can’t be spread or bent over and shortened, it’s not too late to prune and remove them. The only loss would be the ‘sap’ that’s pushed out their leaves… but getting sun to the lower limbs should make up for that – and likely promote some fruit buds. Just be careful not to damage the leaves on the branches you leave.
Most pears are vigorous, and have naturally poor crotch angles. Training the limbs out, as Viron says is the way to get them to flower (next year). Get the limb training done asap, definitely before summer. If you wait till fall, you will not flower until 2012.
Prothec tape (the tan/brown 6 month rated), naturally disintegrates and is what I use in my intensive orchard on pears, cherries and apples, to tie limbs down. It will not girdle the wood (grow into it)....as it will disintegrate by next spring. Cotton kitchen string also works. A naturally disintegrating product. The limbs will stay out after about 60 days of warm weather. Training vs pruning is almost invariably, the best path with non-precocious/vigorous varieties of fruit trees.
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