Topic: Dual variety pear tree

[Digeroo]

Bought it from Lidl  a number of years ago.  One variety flowers well and last year had four pears, the previous year three.  The other variety had a few flowers last year but they all fell off.  Again this year the one variety has loads of flowers while the other has only a very few. 

So I need advise.  Do I just leave it, maybe having extra leaves is a good thing.  Or do I prune off the non producing half of the tree, and make the thing more upright and a better shape. 

[ACE]

I expect they have to cross pollinate so best leave both varieties. I think I may have a similar purchased a few years ago at lidlyaldi. The conference side gives out plenty of fruit but the 'william'? only has a few fruits but plenty of flowers. Having the extra side does not take any room up so I would leave it alone. I do have a stand alone conference which gets weighed down with fruit since I planted the family tree near it. If you have any friends with another variety beg a couple of slips and graft them on as well because the rootstock should be good for three varieties.

[Digeroo]

Thank you that sound like a good plan.  I might try grafting on a quince.   Not sure the conference needs the other one.  The year before last the three fruits set, but the other produced no flowers.   When I  saw the flowers last year I thought it has finally got going, only to watch them fall off.   

I grafted a couple of apples a few years ago and one is doing very well.   My OH trod on the other one, so it is not looking so happy.

[ACE]

Most probably your pears are on a quince rootstock. There must be a way of making it offset a shoot without having to graft a quince. I used to have a giant pear tree that needed pruning badly after it was damaged in the 'hurricane'. I set to it with a mission, unfortunately the following years all I got was quince as I had mistakenly  cut out all the pearwood. We cut it all back again and grafted every different pear we could get cuttings of. Moved house shortly after and I have not seen it for thirty years so I don't know if it ever went back to pears.

[Vinlander]

If you wanted a Williams and a Conference then you should try Concorde - it's a cross between Conference and Doyenne de Comice (which has a better flavour than Williams) and you can taste both in it - a good cropper with less stony fruit than Conference (and a much less stony skin).

Cheers.

[tricia]

I have a family tree - Williams, Concorde and Conference. About 15 years old from either Lidl or Poundstretcher. Right now the tree is in full bloom pretty well equally on all varieties.

I prefer the Concorde too. I find the Williams rather bland and lemony in flavour.

Hoping for a good harvest (not expecting any late frosts here in the southwest).

Tricia 

[galina]

I preserve a lot of pears.  And Williams is very delicious out of a kilner jar in mid-winter.  For fresh eating I agree, Conference and Comice are far better 

[johhnyco15]

i have 7 different pear varieties  all espalier here on the sunshine coast comice and williams seem to be the best but we do have a lot of sunshine making williams sweet juicy and with the advantage they can be eaten straight fron the trees a warm sun ripened pear is simply devine  i did get a tree from aldi a few years ago it had an itilain sounding name a large pear with a red blush to it again sweet and juicy  neills winter another winner gorham excellent not so keen on beth concorde  conference