If your pear tree develops many flowers but no fruit forms, the cause is often a lack of fertilization. Pear trees are generally not self-pollinating. It usually doesn't work without a second tree.
Are pear trees self-pollinating?
Pear trees are not self-pollinating because they have self-sterile hermaphrodite flowers. For successful fertilization you need another pear tree with the same botanical properties and a suitable flowering time within reach.
Pear trees do not fertilize themselves
Many pear varieties are self-sterile. They carry so-called hermaphrodite flowers, which combine both male and female organs in one flower. Self-fertilization does not occur in hermaphrodite flowers.
In order to enable fertilization, the pear tree relies on another pollinator. This is usually a second tree with the same botanical properties, for example a second pear tree. This can be the pear tree in the neighbor's garden, or you can plant another variety yourself.
Both trees must be within reach of each other so that wind and bees can carry out pollination.
Pay attention to trees with the same flowering period
When choosing the second variety, make sure that both trees bloom at the same time, as fertilization is not possible if they bloom at different times.
Pear varieties that are particularly suitable for fertilization
There are a few pear varieties that are well suited as pollinators for many other pear trees. The most famous are:
- Early of Trévoux
- Gellert's butter pear
- Conférence
- Club dean’s bulb
- Madame Verté
Plant one of these pear varieties near your pear tree and increase the prospect of a bountiful harvest.
If you are not sure which pollinator is right for your pear tree, the tree nursery will be happy to advise you. There are also extensive overviews on the Internet of which types of pears cross-pollinate.
Pear trees with two varieties on one tree
Another solution is pear cultivation in which the base has been refined with two different types of pears. Such cultivars have two varieties on one tree. You just have to make sure that the flowering period of the two varieties you choose falls at the same time.
Tips & Tricks
Most gardens don't have enough space for two pear trees. Simply place several pear trees as espalier fruit on the wall of the house or on wire frames in the garden. Espalier pears require little space. You can therefore easily plant several varieties.
