So when can you pick them for cooking and eating? Pears are typically available from August to October, so you can expect fruits in your garden around autumn.
Generally speaking, pears require less maintenance than apples while still yielding similar fruits. However, you might have to wait a few years before you can harvest anything. Growing pear trees from seeds is possible, but you can make things easier by starting with a bare-root tree. Place your plant in an area that receives full sun at least six to eight hours a day. Plant your pear tree in the spring by placing it in a hole four to six inches deeper and wider than its root ball.
Fill the opening with soil and compost, and keep in mind that pear trees prefer well-draining substrates. Place mulch around the base of your tree for moisture retention and to prevent competition from weeds. Fertilizing once a year should be sufficient for most pear trees. If you fertilize more often, avoid plant food with too much nitrogen as it will make your tree more prone to disease.
Once your tree starts to produce fruit, thin them out to two or three per cluster and leave about half a foot between each grouping.
You can also prune your branches back in the winter before they push out new buds. Pears are hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 10 but consult your local nurseries to see which varieties are best for your specific region.
Pear trees can grow up to 40 feet tall, so if you have a smaller space, consider a dwarf or semi-dwarf variety. If you need to give the fruit a yank, or it leaves its stalk behind, or even a bunch of leaves, it is not ready! You can also look at the pips inside to check if the apple is ready — they should be brown if the fruit is ripe, and will be green if unripe.
Pears tend to ripen from the inside, so if you leave them on the tree until they look ripe, they may already be mushy inside. So it is best to pick pears when they are mature but not fully ripe, and let them ripen at home. Again, cup the fruit in your hand and tilt horizontally, and it should come away easily. You can then leave them indoors at room temperature for a week to ripen.
Apple trees do shed some fruit early, particularly if they have a codling moth caterpillar or sawfly grub inside. So the sight of apples on the ground does not in itself mean the apples on the tree are ready to pick. One reason people may be tempted to pick fruit early is to beat others to it. This is especially the case if you have a problem with parakeets, who can strip entire orchards. It is also sad that some people strip community orchards of all their fruit before they are ready. You can try putting up signs indicating when the fruit is likely to be ready.
And you can ask people to wait until your community harvest day. The fruit emits ethylene gas, and the confines of the bag will hurry the ripening process.
Once the pears are ready, you can store them in the refrigerator for up to three months. The commonality does not extend to the color, though. In fact, their transformation, from green to yellow, is a good sign that it's the best time to pick these pears.
But don't stop there. Take the extra step of slicing into or biting into one of these pears to be sure. The flavor should be sweet and the texture should be crispy and crunchy. If not, leave the other pears on the tree to ripen, conducting a taste test to determine when they're fully ripe — and fully suit your palate.
Like European pears, Asian pears can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three months. But sample them occasionally; they can develop an acidic flavor if they're stored for too long, Iowa State says. There's no doubt: Learning the best time to pick pears is important because it affects their flavor. And the flavor will probably influence whether you eat them — and make the most of your harvest — or end up tossing them out.
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