We have recently moved to Canberra. In our backyard we have a pear tree, which at the time of moving in (late Feb) was absolutely loaded with fruit. In early March all the fruit fell off for no apparent reason, the fruit was far from being ripe but was well formed and good colour. Not having much knowledge about fruit trees, could someone offer up some advise on rejuvenating this tree, I would say it has been neglected for sometime.
Many Thanks
Mark
Hey Mark, I'm assuming that it has had enough water - that's important as the fruit grows and ripens.
Then the most important thing to do with a neglected tree is to prune it. Once this is done and the tree fruits again, remove some of the young fruit, thin out the fruit clusters leaving only the best of each and try to ensure that the pears are about 15cm apart. Over production is a big problem causing fruit to drop.
Pears should not be allowed to ripen on the tree, the centre will go brown, they'll be too soft and taste awful! They are ready to harvest when their stem begins to swell at the point of attachment to the twig.
Give the pear an upward twist and, if it is ready to pick, it should seperate cleanly from the fruit stem. Store in a cool place for around a week then bring them into a warm, dark area to ripen.
It's worth the wait!