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Fruit & Orchards

Basic care for Apple/Pear trees?

Carissa Mckinnie

9 years ago

I'll be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing but you guys seem super knowledgable so here goes:

After we purchased our house last summer (in Omaha NE) we quickly discovered an apple tree and a pear tree in the front yard. The trees are large and up near the front of our yard by the street, hanging over the sidewalk.

Last year we were unprepared and not know how to take care of the trees. They sprouted way too much fruit and we were outside picking it up every day, sometimes twice a day. The area around it also became infested with bees and other bugs and it became difficult to clean up or even mow the lawn around. People walking their dogs began crossing the street to avoid having to walk near our yard.

This year I would like to be prepared. I want to make sure that the fruit has time to grow and can be eaten straight from the trees but that we can also keep the bugs away (or at least manageable) and keep the fruit from rotting on the trees. Any help would be appreciated.

Featured Answer

speedster1

9 years ago

It sounds like the trees are way too large for your tastes. Was the fruit good? You could prune it or even top work it and introduce some new Apple and pear varieties while at the same time substantially reducing the trees footprint. Would take another year or too to bare fruit again.

if you are okay with the trees size just do some standard pruning to shorten the limbs and open up the tree to fresh air and sun. When they start to develop thin the fruits out substantially. That way the apples and pears will grow bigger but fewer.

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Comments (6)

TurkeyCreekTrees Zone 5B
9 years ago
Welcome fellow Husker! You can certainly prune back your trees a bit. Take a look at some apple tree pruning instructions first though. You could also thin the fruit quite a bit before it gets too large. It will decrease the amount of cleanup later and likely increase the fruit quality. Sounds like most of the bug issue is a result of the decomposing fruit. Learn when the apples are ripe and pick them at their prime.
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The fruit trees should produce at least a few fruits by the fourth year. That's really when the trees have become semi-mature. This could mean you will have to wait for summer next year (because the first year does not count if it was not planted in the spring). If you still do not see any fruit appear on any of your fruit trees by next year, something is likely wrong. Maybe you are giving your trees too much fertilizer? That can sometimes delay fruiting. Also where is your location? If you are in climate zones 8-10, the trees might not be getting enough chill (and if that is the case there are certain things that can be done to help counteract this). Or your area might have experienced late chill this year, which prevented fruit from forming. Are the crabapples sending out blossoms at the same time as the apples? Have you seen any bees visiting the blossoms? How close are the pear trees to each other? If they are more than 20-30ft apart, that may be making pollination difficult in the early years.
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Carissa Mckinnie
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks, you guys are awesome!!

A follow up question, I think the bugs were causing the fruit to rot on the trees. Things that weren't fully grown were rotting on the trees. Suggestions? :)
waxingmoom
9 years ago
The common insects that damages apples are apple maggot flies, coddling moths and oriental fruit moths. Pears are damaged mostly by CM and OFM, too. They attack fruit early and often, meaning CM has at least two generations and OF M has up to 5 generatons. They cause early fruit drops and make a mess. They can damage ALL of your fruit if not spray.

You need to spray. For this year, insecticide is quick and effective. Try triazicide Once and Done by Spectracide. Spray soon after petal fall. Read label. You can spray a few more time at 10-14 days interval depending on how much insect pressure you have and how heavy it rains.

Pick up all dropded fruit. Throw them out with the trash. Do not compost. If you do, you extend their life cycle that way. If you cut up dropped fruit that have holes or ooze gums, you will see lavae inside. One time i collect dropped fruit in a bucket and forgot to empty the bucket for a few days. Lavae crawled around at the bottom of the buckets. Give me goose bumps.

And thin a lot of fruit so the remaining fruit can size up. Thinning also improves fruit quality.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
i wrote this.. in her tree forum post:

====>>>>>

we really need a pic.. or more words ..

when i was a kid... at g ma's house.. the neighbor had a 60 to 80 foot pear ...

the falling hard fruit were like incoming mortar fire ...

if that is what we are talking about ... be done with them ...

there is no way to bring a wildly large fruit tree ... back into shape by pruning ...

+om .. her problem is... the bees are getting stoned on rotting
fermented fruit ... a real PIA ... but the only recourse.. is to get rid
of the tree ..

getting rid of the bees solves nothing ...

ken

==>>> soooooo .. how big we talking about???

and BTW ... the reason i quit growing fruit .. was the 4 to 6 times PER YEAR ... that spraying was needed ... it just wasnt worth the time, effort or money ... for the crop provided ... and that is how you would avoid them rotting on the tree ...

ken
Carissa Mckinnie
Original Author
9 years ago
I am hesitant to post photos simply because without leaves it's hard to tell where my trees end and other trees in the background begin. Here's the best shot I could get.

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