Hopes of a bumper pear crop this year have long since disappeared! The last bulletin on my chosen tree for Tree Following With Lucy was back in June, when the tale was related of drastic June drop and the arrival of the disfiguring pear midge. We were away in July hence no update and I'm not sure sure what happened to August's post. Now in September the sorry saga has continued. The remaining grand total of all of six pears seem to have hung in a state of suspended animation all summer. The fruits are just not swelling and it's not as if it's been a dry summer in these parts. Not only that but to add insult to injury the leaves of the tree have now been afflicted by pear rust. Not wanting to hurt my tree's feelings further I decided that the tree paparazzi would steer clear of it this month. Instead the above photo is of its neighbour rescued from a bargain bin and planted only a few feet away. It has been affected by pear rust as well but not as badly - you can see the orange marks on the leaves. I need to remove these leaves as a matter of urgency. However on the plus side the fruit is expanding and there are more than six - well nine of them to be precise. Thanks as always to Lucy over at 'Loose and Leafy', who provides us with the opportunity to peek at trees of all shapes and sizes each month. Thoughts of putting my tree up for adoption are flitting through my mind - any takers?
A truly mouth watering image Anna. Your tree is certainly having it's trials and tribulations!
ReplyDeleteOh dear! I was going to say that those pears look pretty good to me but then I read that this is the neighbour. Poor thing, perhaps it's just having an off year and next year it will reward you generously, wouldn't that be nice?
ReplyDeleteOur pear trees have plenty of fruit, but they are not swelling up as they should. Many are falling off the tree, just small hard lumps. Looks like no pears for us this year.
ReplyDeleteThe ornamental pear tree I am following is in worse shape. So it goes - better luck next year!
At least you have some fruit ripening from one of the trees - and very good they look too!
ReplyDeleteI hope they taste as good as they look Anna. :) Maybe you'll have more luck next season!
ReplyDeleteIf its any comfort Anna, our pear tree is covered with pear rust for the first time this year and despite all the blossom very few pears. We must hope for a cold period this winter to kill the mite followed by a bumper crop next year!
ReplyDeleteIts amazing how the fruit can still continue to grow in September. Hopefully the rain will help yours. Sadly both our pear trees planted only 7 years ago, after a first few years of plenty, succumbed to a variety of diseases and had to be removed. To top it all the few fruit were pinched by the squirrels even when large! I therefore take off my hat to you and your pear trees.
ReplyDeleteI may be perverse but I'd really, really like to see the things that are wrong with your tree. Close up! Not only would pictures of rust be interesting in their own right (sometimes bad things up close can be beautiful) but if the problem can be solved to some degree by picking off the leaves, photos of it might be useful as an early warning sign for people who have similar pear challenges. ? ? ?
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