Pear Tree Did Not Bloom: Getting A Pear Tree To Bloom

Pear Tree With No Pears
pear not blooming
(Image credit: picturethatphoto)

If your pear tree has no flowers, you may ask, “When do pears bloom?” Pear tree bloom time is generally spring. A pear tree without flowers in spring cannot produce fruit in summer. The cause of a pear’s failure to bloom can be anything from immaturity to inadequate cultural care, so you’ll do best walking your way through a checklist of possible causes. Read on for more information about getting a pear tree to bloom.

My Pear Tree is Not Blooming

If your pear tree did not bloom at all this year, first determine whether it's a mature tree. If a very young pear tree did not bloom, it may simply be too young. If your tree is fewer than five years old, your best bet is to simply wait.

If your pear tree did not bloom even though it is mature, check the cultivar’s hardiness zone against the zone of your region. A pear tree that needs a warmer climate than yours might not flower at all if planted in your chilly backyard. Temperature may also play a role. Warm spells can cause flower buds to open prematurely, only to be killed by frosts.

Getting a Pear Tree to Bloom

If your tree is mature enough to flower and planted in an appropriate hardiness zone, you should be able to help it to bloom. Instead of bemoaning “My pear tree is not blooming,” focus on getting a pear tree to bloom.

•Is your pear tree getting at least six hours of sun every day? Pear tree bloom time will pass without flowers if the tree is in the shade. Cut back shrubs and branches shading the pear tree to encourage it to flower.

•Lack of water can also cause a mature pear tree’s failure to bloom. Providing a deep watering every week during the growing season may go a long way toward getting a pear tree to bloom.

•Finally, improper pruning of pears or excess fertilizing can be the cause when a pear tree did not bloom. Flowers appear on short spurs on pear trees. Pruning branches off too severely can reduce or eliminate flowering.

•Giving your tree – or the grass around it – too much fertilizer pushes the tree to grow branches and leaves instead of flowers.

Teo Spengler
Writer

Teo Spengler has been gardening for 30 years. She is a docent at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Her passion is trees, 250 of which she has planted on her land in France.