I can't remember all the threads where I've read comments about pears, especially European pears, taking such a long time to bear, but that hasn't been my experience. My inclination in explaining why is that everything just grows better in North Carolina than anywhere else in the world, but maybe you all have other theories. Scott, are you counting 4-5 years from seeding the rootstock or from grafting or from planting the kind of trees that nurseries typically ship bareroot or...? I planted Asian and European pears the winter of 07-08, so this past year was my 4th growing season. The Asians came from Hidden Springs Nursery. They don't say anything about grafting onto any kind of dwarf rootstock, but I have really no idea. I got about a half bushel per tree this 4th growing season, an average of maybe 4-8 pears per tree in the 3rd year, and I can't remember if I got any at all in the 2nd year. My two Euros came from Johnson Nursery. Johnsons says simply that they graft onto some kind of standard rootstock. I got a few pears from a Kiefer in the 3rd year and nearly a bushel this 4th year. Even the Moonglow that had the whole tree broken off below the first limb a year and a half ago produced a few pears this year, and I assume it would have yielded more like the Kiefer apart from that.

Had the same issue noted this spring ( winter freeze)....although I did have leaves coming out of the black branches, they began to die back in June. I pruned the tree dang near down to the base as the black on one tree traveled from the top to about 8 inches....there are no shoots left...can only hope it grows new shoots. The other asian pear I trimmed down about 17 inches to a couple shoots losing the black. There was no green under the black....so although it produced leaves, it slowly died back....no new shoots growing just had a few leaves and that was it. Hoping this spurns new vigorous growth...otherwise I have to start over. These trees were planted bare root and lasted all of one winter. Fruit trees take sooo long to produce I hate when this happens....I'm not getting younger.

Not Bas's method exactly, although he's been a very important mentor to me in terms of training technique for over 15 years. He's the one who guided me towards pruning by ratios and taught me about putting branches where I want them by partially girdling the trunk just above latent buds in early spring (not in person, but through his articles, two in Pomona that were totally wonderful). I read the same article and it really doesn't seem much improvement over what I've done for years, which is to seriously thin spur wood- removing about half of it, every dormant pruning. His suggestion that spurs on the upper side of branches grow bigger pears has influenced me this season, however. Asian pears here in the northeast have a tendency to spur up and runt out a bit, so thinning spur wood encourages adequate vegetative pencils to feed the fruit. It also allows me to get decent size on the trees. I wish Bas van den Ende would write an entire book about managing pears and apples because he seems the most knowledgeable man I've ever had the privilidge of learning from about the management of pomes.

bakaroni: I don't know what is specifically responsible for your lack of fruit after heavy blooming, but I do know that growing tall with thick, lush foliage is not the recipe for a productive Asian pear. Are you fertilizing this tree, and if so, with what? Most fruit trees require little if any supplemental nitrogen, and then only if they are clearly nitrogen starved. If the foliage is very lush and thick, do some summer pruning now, and thin it. Try to reduce the natural tendency of the tree to grow vertically with a little branch spreading, using spreaders, weights, or tiedowns on the branches. Why do you suspect that a squall may have blew away the blooms? Did you have a squall, and are squalls common where you live? What were the weather conditions like when your tree was in bloom? Please tell us where you are located, so it is possible to figure in your climate in any attempt to explain your problem. Asian pear blossoms are pretty tough, but not immune to a late frost, and these trees may require a companion pollinator to induce a good fruit set. Normally, Asian pears set so heavily that they require extensive thinning, but if your tree blossomed the first season you planted it, it is either very precocious or was quite large when it was planted. Crunchy and sweet does sound like an Asian pear, and the brown color could indicate a variety like Chojuro. How did it happen that you bought a tree from a nursery, brought it home, and planted it without really knowing what it is? Was it a close-out sale and was the tag missing? I think you did the right thing by removing the fruits that formed the first season, and with any kind of luck whatever happened this year will not be repeated. The fact that it did set fruit the first season may indicate that pollination will not be a problem, unless it had already been pollinated by other pear trees at the nursery before you brought it home. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA