Fruitwise planting a small pear tree
Julia and I plant the last tree in a new section of orchard.. we planted 32 pear trees where we had removed some Bramley and Sunset apples-we had too many of them and our customers kept asking for pears.
It is possible to plant much larger trees than this small 1 year maiden. If they have good roots, have not been out of the ground long, and are planted with great care and tied to a stake they may give fruit sooner. However, a big tree suffers more transplanting stress, a small tree with good roots is likely to grow away better.
The important thing is to carefully spread the roots and crumble and work the soil with a spade or fork, as Julia shows in this video, so that they have good soil contact. You will have noted that we did not put any fertiliser or compost in the planting hole. This soil is rich and well textured, so no need, but a mulch of compost on the surface will help. DO NOT put fresh dung or rough compost in the planting hole, a handful of composted forest bark can help with moisture retention if the soil is too sandy but generally its better not to add anything, use mulch or top dressing if necessary.
Remember, the biggest mistake about planting a fruit tree is not to do it! Tiny though this tree is, it should have some fruit on in in 3 years. The variety was Seckle, a rare fruit of legendary flavour. I have never tasted this as it is not comercially available, I obtained it from Keeper’s nursery near Maidstone, Kent. check out their web site-lots of information about many hard to find fruit varieties.
Most of the other pear trees in this replanted section of our orchard came from Blackmoor wholesale fruit nurseries near Petersfield, Hampshire. They too have a great web site. we prefer to buy local, but Blackmoor didn’t have Seckle.
PS May 2009, this tree and th eother 31 pears in this new pear orchard grew away nicely, it’s still very small but looks as if it will double in size this year. We may allow it to carry 1 or 2 fruits in 2010 if God wills that we and the orchard are still here then.
Duration : 0:2:57
Tags: fruitwise, orchard, pear, plant, planting, Seckle, tree
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Nice video.
I …
Nice video.
I planted 3 pears this spring but only one has gotten any leaves on it.
I wonder if the leafless ones will come around next year.
Thanks.
ray
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
nice video. thnks.
nice video. thnks.
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Thanks Tina. What …
Thanks Tina. What with Israel, global finace meltdown, wars and rumours of wars and all the rest, can it be long now? watch the dome of the rock. But we DON’T KNOW so Julia and I are gonna GO ON PLANTING TREES.
deer are an issue. two deer had unfortunate accidents in my orchard over the last 12 months One walked into an ounce of lead, another had an accident with a sharp piece of steel. It was very quick both times, and the meat apart from what we already ate is in the freezer.
kind regards
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
He is coming soon. …
He is coming soon. I hope you get some pears from the tree soon! I would love to grow a tree or two myself, but the deer around here……kill my fruit trees.
God Bless, nice video’s, thank you.
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Hello Andre
…
Hello Andre
pruning pears and apples is not very different. Pears grow better as pyramids. I will prune my pears in the next 2 weeks and will make a video.
I have posted several videos on grafting which may answer your questions, so I won;t repeat myself here. The definitive book on grafting is The Grafter’s Handbook by R J Garner, still in print. If you can get The Fruit Garden Displayed second hand or from a library, this classic RHS book has good grafting instruction.
best wishes
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
hello Mr. Hayes,
I …
hello Mr. Hayes,
I would like to know if it is possible for you to post a video on how to prune a pear tree, which I immagine is different from pruning an apple tree! And can you suggest me a book that exaplains when is the best period and the various tecniques to graft fruit trees?
thank you very much!
Andre
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Hi Stephen, would …
Hi Stephen, would like to take the time to say thank you for doing the videos. We have just purchased our first trees and have found the videos very informative. Hope you do some more, thanks
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Stephen:
I …
Stephen:
I stumbled across your videos about 3 months ago. I think you guys do a great service for people and I wanted to say thank you. I could tell from the first video that I saw that you were a brother is Christ. (just like a tree I could tell by your fruit “words”) In this video you comment on Christ’s return and a feeling of his coming very soon, I also believe we are in the last days! You are a good stewart of God’s land! I will look you up when we get to heaven, Thanks again, Ray
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
This was a variety …
This was a variety called Seckle, which originated in America from a chance seedling found growing in a wood. Rootstock is quince C, it was obtained from Keepers nursery in Kent, you can easily find them on the web.
We also planted Doyenne du Comice, Conference, Concorde, Beurre Hardy and Williams. We also have pear varieties Doyenne D’Ete, Winter Nelis, Santa Claus, Josephine de Malines and Louise Bonne of Jersey. Pear names are even more wonderful than apples, they’re mostly French
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
I was just …
I was just wondering what kind of pear and what kind of rootstock you planted?
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
pears
pears
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
PS the new pear …
PS the new pear orchard has grown on beautifully well, I will post a short video showing it soon.
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
No argument with …
No argument with that. The soil was pretty moist and moisture retentive and this tree had come very well packed from Keeper’s nursery of Kent (check out their excellent web site) so there was no need of soaking the roots. We did soak the roots of an earlier consignment of pear trees as they looked as if they needed it, these didn’t.
I tend not to stake trees but it is wise if you have a bigger tree and smaller roots or a very windy site.
October 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
If a tree seems a …
If a tree seems a bit parched prior to planting, its a good idea to gently prune back the roots a tad and then soak in a bucket of water for 15-20 minutes and then plant. Also,firstly drive a suitable stake in the hole on the windward side of where the tree will be.The tree,once planted, should then be secured to this (without the possibility of abrasion),thereby supporting the sometimes still fragile grafted area from snapping in high winds.