I have been trying, yes trying, to grow pears for about 5 years and finally I have had some success.
I bought a couple of cocktail pear trees back in 2009. They were Cocktail Pear ‘San Giovanni’ and Cocktail Pear ‘Lemon Bergamot’, both purchased from the Diggers club. These are listed in the catalogue as dwarf type fruit trees.
As our soil here in Melton is a heavy clay, these two little trees struggled for many years until Ben and I dug them up and planted them in two big pots two years ago. During the first year in their pots, they both flowered which amazed me because this was the first sign of fruit in their entire life!
In the second year in posts, both trees flowered, but one actually set fruit.
Our first pear
I think that the big difference was that they now get good drainage, and are maybe old enough to bear fruit without stressing out the tree too much. The hard clay really inhibited the growth of these trees, because I have two olive trees doing well in the same place these pears used to be planted.
Now that it is March, the leaves on the trees are starting to yellow, it is time to pick pears and apples. So while I was in the front orchard this afternoon counting my pumpkin crop that I am harvesting this weekend, checked out the pear tree and saw that the four pears were starting to yellow a little. It was time to pick them before birds decided to have them for dinner!
Cocktail Pears and a Jonathan Apple
They look delicious and are big pears, certainly a lot bigger than I thought these little trees would produce.
We have held off eating them for a couple of days to see if they ripen further. Because these are so special to me, I am going to cut one up and serve it on our 18th wedding anniversary on Sunday with some homemade Colby cheese. The others we will eat as snacks.
Close up of Cocktail Pears
So I suppose the lesson I have learnt from all of this is that if a deciduous fruit tree that is not growing very well, then think about moving the tree to a better place. If you don’t have a better place, then seriously think about placing them in a big pot.
It certainly worked for me. It also works for all my citrus trees that wouldn’t be able to handle the heavy clay either.
Do any of you have fruit trees in pots that are fruiting well? I would love to hear about them via comment.
Hi Gav … boy do I have success with fruit trees in pots! Blood orange has 5 fruit, Mulberry is a constant giver, Loquot tree constant giver, Mango tree has a whopper mango on it, my Eureka lemon has finally set fruit after 6 years (16 fruit on it now), nectarine had 5 fruit (eatenby me) peach had 2 fruit (eaten by me), star fruit has a mass of flowers waiting for fruit, 2 passionfruits flowered but I cut them early to make the vines dense so will let it go next season, waiting on red globe grape is yet to see fruit and nothing on avocado tree either. Not badfor a balcony garden 🙂 so proud of my little garden
Hi Gavin,
ever since you talked about planting fruit trees in your front yard i have been working on adding more fruit trees to my tiny garden. One area alongside my front fence has been dubbed fruit salad alley and I have a fig, a mulberry, a pomegranate, with two dragonfruit on either side and passionfruit vines which will provide the background and a bit of shade. Also starawberries in pots attched to the fence. I have different sized pots and have been thinking of repotting them so that they match or else planting them all into a raised bed alongside the fence. As they grow I want to espalier them against the fence. What would your thoughts be on either option? In the back veggie patch I have a barbados cherry which provides yummy fruit and lovely dappled shade. There is also a grafted dwarf avocado which is struggling. Lemon, lime and olive trees are doing well in large pots. I would be interested to hear what mix you put into your pots.
Oh golly I forgot to say your fruit looks awesome – congratulations!
As always, you have fruit perfection and how romantic of you. Pear and Cheese from your very own hands. What girl could resist. I also have a dwarf potted pear and surprisingly last year it fruited. They were growing beautifully until i spotted both immature fruit under the coffee table in the living room with little teeth marks. I scream out “Tilly” and a little furry head pops up like with a look to say “What”. Sadly, this year, no fruit and very yellow leaves. Too much attention or not enough?
Happy Anniversary for Sunday you too.
Gav I have found that dwarf trees often do not have a vigorous enough root system to deal with heavy soils but for the same reason are much happier in a pot. I will not buy dwarf trees again for plants that are intended go in the ground which is not likely to be an issue for us living in the country. I hope they are delicious.
Hi Gavin
I read somewhere that pears ripen from the inside (near the core) to the outside. So wait till the outside softens a bit and with good timing the whole fruit should be ripe.
Cheers
Claire (no longer in Kalorama)