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pear fruitlets dropping off

pierre_de_gayepierre_de_gaye Posts: 182
in Problem solving
Our conference pear fruited for the first time this year (4 years old or so) to our delight.  There must have been at least 2 dozen fruitlets.

Now, to our dismay, virtually every one of them has, over the past month, dropped off.  The stalks yellowed initially, yet the fruit itself looked perfectly healthy.   When I grasped the fruitlets and moved gently, they broke off very easily - no strength at all.   

Any ideas as to what may be wrong here?   Initially just some of them came off, but it now seems that all have been weakened by something.   Again though, the fruitlets don't look like they are diseased and the tree itself is very healthy.

So disappointed as we have been awaiting our first crop for a few years since planting a couple of years ago.
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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited June 2018
    PIt's called the June Drop and is perfectly normal. No tree can bring all the fruit that set to fruition and quite a lot will be discarded at this time of year. 
    I would only allow such a young pear tree to produce a couple of fruits ... I would remove all but two fruitlets from those remaining after June. The following year you can leave a few more on the tree. 
    This is one of the two pears our four year old tree produced in its first year of fruiting

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited June 2018
    @pierre_de_gaye ...  Further to my post above ... I scrabbled around under my pear tree andfound one of the fruitlets that dropped last week and photographed it next to one of the fruits retained on the tree to show you that the tree knows what it's doing ... less than a week later it's more than quadrupled in size!



    Just make sure that your tree doesn't get dry at the roots over the summer.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • pierre_de_gayepierre_de_gaye Posts: 182
    Dove from above,

    Thank you very much for your advice - I'm glad to learn that it's normal.

    How long would I have to keep removing fruitlets for, and how many should be removed each year then?     When would we reach the stage where the fruitlets can be all left on, i.e. when the tree is properly fruiting and producing good crops?

    Is it Concorde that you have?   We also have a very young one of those ourselves.

    I hadn't anticipated just how long we would have to wait to receive a full crop of pears...patience is a virtue I guess?
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    'They' do say you plant pears for your heirs... :)
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    @pierre_de_gaye  ... yes, it's a Concorde ... a superb pear ...  ours is trained as an espalier ... it has three tiers and is in its 6th year ... this year I think it's finished dropping fruitlets now and it has about a dozen nicely swelling fruits as in the photo which I hope will all ripen, so that's around two fruit to each branch ... I don't plan to remove any this year. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • pierre_de_gayepierre_de_gaye Posts: 182
    I'm envious.   I think Concorde tastes even better than conference from what I recall.  Will be some time before the former ever fruits properly.

    I felt each fruitlet and every one of them ended up coming off in my fingers with ease.  Some remained, only for those themselves to come off when I checked them a week later. 

    There may be only one or two left now and wondering if they will suffer the same fate?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think the best thing to do is to ensure it doesn't dry out and don't touch the fruit. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and your pears  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Steve the Gardening VetSteve the Gardening Vet Posts: 1,630
    I have a self fertile pear (I forget which it is) and had AWFUL June drop until I planted a companion tree. Now far more of the fruit stays on, I think self fertilised fruit is statistically far more likely to drop off.
  • pierre_de_gayepierre_de_gaye Posts: 182
    Interesting, Steve. 

    We have a companion from the suitable pollination group but it is a year or two younger so hasn't flowered yet.

    Dove, I'll try not to touch fruit next year though they seem to drop of their own accord.

    We're pretty rigorous with watering so that shouldn't be an issue 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Would you have to keep watering apples and pears a lot even for trees in the ground? I need to keep a closer eye on mine.
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