Mother Nature knows best...

[Triple C]

The good ole fashion American Persimmon tree:

• Planted free by coyotes, deer, raccoons and other critters.
• Grows everywhere and anywhere across the southeast.
• Impervious to disease.
• Drought tolerant.
• Easy to change the sex from male to female by grafting.
• Produces abundant fruit just about every year.
• Deer love em.

On the other hand...my Kieffers pear trees this year.

I planted these in 2011 and 2012. Late frosts wiped out my fruit every year until this year when most all were loaded. Most of em look like this. The more I do the habitat thing the more I like what Mother Nature provides on her own. #lovingmypersimmons.

 

[Canuck5]

I feel your pain, Triple C!

 

[Jim Boyd]

3C

I am big on persimmons also.

I did however plant 50 pears this past year.

Some folks noted that my pears were not pruned correctly.

Is it possible this is what contributed to your limb breakage?

Jo and I also just purchased a small farm this year and my intent is to add pears and am trying to learn as I go.

I have three larger pear trees in my new yard at the farm and they are dropping right now - the deer are on them constantly.

They broke some limbs also but I know these have not been properly cared for.....

 

[ShortMagFan]

I’ve lost a bunch of pear tree limbs this year too and had similar experience with the frost. Planted them about the same time you did too. I’m told they will come back

Yes Jim, I believe pruning does matter.

 

[Triple C]

3C

I am big on persimmons also.

I did however plant 50 pears this past year.

Some folks noted that my pears were not pruned correctly.

Is it possible this is what contributed to your limb breakage?

Jo and I also just purchased a small farm this year and my intent is to add pears and am trying to learn as I go.

I have three larger pear trees in my new yard at the farm and they are dropping right now - the deer are on them constantly.

They broke some limbs also but I know these have not been properly cared for.....

JIm - I pruned these trees every February except this year. Tried my best to create the proper limb formation. I'm gonna contribute the issue to not having fruit for so many years due to late frosts wiping out the blooms and buds. As a result, like all pear trees, the limbs just grew vertical instead of more outward. Had they had fruit over the years, I believe the weight of fruit would have naturally caused the limbs to take the bend with better growth characteristics. Not all of them broke but about 50% look like this with major limb breakage.

 

[Mr Bya Lungshot]

When a fruit trees bowed over prune it and leave all the forked nubs you can to grow back.

 

[oochee hunter]

I thought Hallman went out of business? I purchased trees from them years ago and had really good results. I have there trophy pears growing as we speak. I had 12 trophy pears, some got fire blight so I cut them down, the rest I just decided to see what would happen if I left them. They have continued to thrive so I think it was a mistake to remove them.

 

[Jim Boyd]

JIm - I pruned these trees every February except this year. Tried my best to create the proper limb formation. I'm gonna contribute the issue to not having fruit for so many years due to late frosts wiping out the blooms and buds. As a result, like all pear trees, the limbs just grew vertical instead of more outward. Had they had fruit over the years, I believe the weight of fruit would have naturally caused the limbs to take the bend with better growth characteristics. Not all of them broke but about 50% look like this with major limb breakage.

Great info.

Mine are about 10-16’ tall and straight up.....

 

[Jim Boyd]

I thought Hallman went out of business? I purchased trees from them years ago and had really good results. I have there trophy pears growing as we speak. I had 12 trophy pears, some got fire blight so I cut them down, the rest I just decided to see what would happen if I left them. They have continued to thrive so I think it was a mistake to remove them.

Hallmans is in business and doing well.

They are great people who will really help you.

 

[Triple C]

Great info.

Mine are about 10-16’ tall and straight up.....

Jim - some of my trees were pushing 30 ft tall and became to tall to prune the highest branches. Without fruit, the limbs want to grow straight up. If I had a do over, and knowing what I know now, I would have considered using stones to tie to the limbs in the years without fruit just to better train the limbs for a better outward growth pattern. I've read where guys did that with their pear trees.

I'll have to say that I planted many of these at the lowest elevation on my property, which as you know, is the most susceptible to late frosts. I've had guys to tell me not to worry about the breakage. Just prune the damaged limbs and they will respond just fine and over time, while not pretty to look at, will produce plenty of fruit.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Jim - some of my trees were pushing 30 ft tall and became to tall to prune the highest branches. Without fruit, the limbs want to grow straight up. If I had a do over, and knowing what I know now, I would have considered using stones to tie to the limbs in the years without fruit just to better train the limbs for a better outward growth pattern. I've read where guys did that with their pear trees.

I'll have to say that I planted many of these at the lowest elevation on my property, which as you know, is the most susceptible to late frosts. I've had guys to tell me not to worry about the breakage. Just prune the damaged limbs and they will respond just fine and over time, while not pretty to look at, will produce plenty of fruit.

Great points, again.

The three in my yard are the ugliest things you have seen but they are flat loaded and as I noted, the deer are pounding them.

I shook branches Friday eve and dropped 90-100 pears on the ground - all were gone at daylight on Saturday am.

I want the persimmon trees for sure and plan to graft a good many this coming spring but I am left to wonder from a food value and quantity standpoint (I care about this more than the hunting aspect) if the pears don’t give the persimmons a good run for their money?

I understand you have had challenges with yours but I am gonna stay in this project for a while longer - with sawtooth, pear (5 varieties) and persimmons.

Best of luck sir.

 

[Triple C]

Jim - I bet I shook well north of 200 pears off the branches on the trees that weren't broken. BTW...every leaf that is in deer lip height is browsed off. Deer love the leaves. I shook the trees friday afternoon. Went back Sunday morning and couldn't find but a few pears on the ground. They were devoured.

A buddy posted a pic of this ancient old pear tree that looks like it suffered over the years but just kept putting on fruit. My guess is that even mine probably needed the self pruning they received and over time, hopefully will look like this old tree. You can definitely see how the limbs were influenced with a downward arc from years of carrying the fruit load.

 

[Canuck5]

Jim, the Keiffer's should mature in late September or early October and I suggest you taste a fully ripe one. It has a bit of a thicker skin, but it will put a smile on your face.

 

[Canuck5]

The Keiffers are an old Georgia variety.

 

[Nicodemus]

The Keiffers are an old Georgia variety.

They live a long time too. The one on our homeplace was planted around 1898 and is still bearing fruit to this day.

 

[joepuppy]

Is that what they call a "sand pear" around my neck of the woods?

 

[Triple C]

Is that what they call a "sand pear" around my neck of the woods?

joe - Gonna let one of the fruit tree experts weigh in on that one. I hear folks refer to those old farmstead pear trees that are as old as Methuselah as sand pears. I bet my pear trees will look like that in 30 years or so after I'm long gone. Grandkids will hopefully be pulling fruit off of em.

A number of em had signs of fire blight since planting in 2011 n 12. I just cut the dead off and they seem to just grow n grow n grow.

But, at the end of the day... I ain't planting any more fruit trees. I'm gonna continue to daylight the persimmons. They drop fruit over a long period of time. Deer absolutely love them. And they require zero care except for keeping the sunshine on them.

 

[antharper]

I agree Jim , Mother Nature sure knows best , but I sure like planting trees

 

[treemanjohn]

That pear tree had doom written all over it. It had ways too much fruit load and the limbs are spindly. Look for columnar fruit trees when planting. Theyre much stronger. Low forks won't hold

 

[livinoutdoors]

That pear tree had doom written all over it. It had ways too much fruit load and the limbs are spindly. Look for columnar fruit trees when planting. Theyre much stronger. Low forks won't hold

Not to highjack the thread, but could you go into more detail on what you mean? I just planted a couple of kieffer pears on the homestead and im sure others would also take note on how to make sure this doesnt happen to them.