Well, the good thing about Lowes is it should have a one year guarantee from date of purchase, even if its on clearance, so save the receipt (unless you scanned your MyLowes card). But, since this thing had since probably March in Zone 8 to leaf out and hasn't I would say something is probably wrong with it. Whether or not it comes out of it and grows is hard to say, but the longer they go without breaking the smaller the odds of survival in my opinion.

Oh yeah, my favorite dessert, I love this stuff, I'm just waiting for pears to be ready here. I don't always make individual servings, I put it into one big pan.  Individual Maple Pear Cobblers Courtesy of: Rebecca Rather, Chef, Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe 6 servings 3 pounds pears, peeled, cored, quartered 2/3 cup + 9 tablespoons pure maple syrup 2 tablespoons + 1 1/2 cups flour 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 9 tablespoons whipping cream melted butter sugar to taste nutmeg to taste For the filling, combine the pears, 2/3 cup syrup, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a bowl and mix well. Divide evenly among 6 custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place a pat of butter on top of each one. Bake at 425 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until heated through. For the topping, place the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a food processor. Add 6 tablespoons butter and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add the cream, 9 tablespoons syrup and 1 teaspoon vanilla and process until combined. Drop by spoonfuls onto the hot filling. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg. Bake for 14 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden brown. I also can this, my favorite preserves, thanks to Readinglady: Old Fashioned Pear Preserves from Carol (Readinglady) Yu can also make Pear Preserves if you want chunks of pear suspended in syrup. By weight use equal amounts of pears and sugar. You also need the juice and seeds of one lemon. I wouldn't go over about 4 pounds of fruit because it takes too long to cook larger amounts. This takes several days, but it's mainly waiting and the results are wonderful. Here's what you do: Day 1: Peel, core and cut firm-ripe pears into chunks or slices. Leave pieces large enough to retain character in preserves. Place pears in acidified water (Fruit Fresh or Ascorbic Acid). Rinse and drain pears. Place in large bowl and add sugar equal in weight to pears. Add juice of lemon and place pips (seeds) in small bag. It's messy but I also add any of the pulp that was reamed out. Add to bowl. Stir gently to distribute syrup and refrigerate overnight. Throughout evening stir occasionally to distribute sugar. (I usually don't do this more than once.) Day 2: Place macerated pears and sugar syrup with lemon seeds in bag in large pan. Bring to a boil and cook about 10 minutes, skimming foam. Reduce temperature and continue to cook (about 20 minutes) until pears are translucent and candied. Turn off heat and leave pears and syrup overnight. (This can be room temperature.) Cover pan with a cloth, not a lid (to prevent condensation). Day 3: Using a slotted spoon lift pears from syrup and place in a strainer. Collect any additional syrup in a bowl beneath the strainer. (I drained syrup left in pan into a bowl and washed the pan because the syrup was crystallized along the rim then I put the syrup back.) Bring syrup to a boil and cook to gel point stirring frequently. (Depending on how thick you want the syrup, this can be anywhere from 218-222°.) You can also use the frozen plate test. The advantage is you get to thicken the syrup just the way you like without cooking the delicate pears to the point of disintegration. Return the pears to syrup and boil 1 minute to reheat them. Pull off heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This allows fruit to equalize with the syrup so it doesn't float to the top of the jar.) Place preserves in sterilized jars and BWB 5 minutes or clean, hot jars and BWB 10 minutes. Yum, I LOVE pears.... Annie

Kate, those are beautiful pears. My favorite is the tiny Seckel, and I planted two pear trees last year, but it'll be a couple of years before I get fruit. I think the red pear on the left is probably red Anjou and the middle one looks more like a Bartlett type. They all look delicious. My favorite dessert is a maple pear cobbler, so I'm envious. Annie

I'm trying to identify what varieties my pears are so I know what the minimum cold storage time is. I think the one on the right is a Bosc but not sure of the others. Any idea? Thanks.