Plant-A-Day 2020 (Day 99) Asian Pear Espalier

Purchased from Raintree Nursery about seven years ago, this interesting tree hasn’t lived up to its potential. I think the main problem is sunlight. I have it in the darkest corner of the orchard garden and it was sunny when I first planted it there, but now there are taller trees in front of it and also extra tall vehicles in the driveway. The tree sets a few fruit each year, but they never seem to ripen fully and/or some varmint steals them.

There are six varieties on the tree, but only the four tags are left. The above image is what the tree looks like this week. My 2020 plans for the tree are to fertilize it with organic spikes and to try to clear some of the shade in front of it so it has a better chance of setting fruit. I may try to pollinate some of the flowers, as well, since I haven’t seen a lot of pollinators in that part of the garden.