Gardening.....young pear tree

Pip_cas1

FlorayG said:

WHAT VARIETY IS IT?

Overview

Pyrus communis, the common pear, is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe, and western Asia. It is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions.     Or pyrus pyraster

FlorayG

OK so you have no idea what variety it is. In that case it could be an ornamental weeping pear and meant to do that. It could also be on it's own roots, which means it's going to make maybe 6 metres high? Or it could be on a dwarfing rootstock, which means it will fall over and break the first time it has fruit if you don't stake it strongly.
Sorry but there's no way to know if you don't have that information. There's a reason why supermarket fruit trees are cheap

Pip_cas1

FlorayG said:

OK so you have no idea what variety it is. In that case it could be an ornamental weeping pear and meant to do that. It could also be on it's own roots, which means it's going to make maybe 6 metres high? Or it could be on a dwarfing rootstock, which means it will fall over and break the first time it has fruit if you don't stake it strongly.
Sorry but there's no way to know if you don't have that information. There's a reason why supermarket fruit trees are cheap

Yeah I understand that,  cheers

Silvertabby

So, it could be an ornamental weeping pear (which do fruit, but they don't taste all that nice) or an unnamed fruiting pear that could eventually grow to a ridiculous size.

If it's fruit you are after, I'd cut your losses and replace it with a named variety on a rootstock suitable for your garden.  

Pip_cas1

Silvertabby said:

So, it could be an ornamental weeping pear (which do fruit, but they don't taste all that nice) or an unnamed fruiting pear that could eventually grow to a ridiculous size.

If it's fruit you are after, I'd cut your losses and replace it with a named variety on a rootstock suitable for your garden.  

Thanks, to be honest we only bought it as a 'tree', not for edible fruit but for the many birds we get in the garden. It just looks a little out of control with long dangly branches. Best to trim it down or stake it?  

FlorayG

Pip_cas1 said:

Silvertabby said:

So, it could be an ornamental weeping pear (which do fruit, but they don't taste all that nice) or an unnamed fruiting pear that could eventually grow to a ridiculous size.

If it's fruit you are after, I'd cut your losses and replace it with a named variety on a rootstock suitable for your garden.  

 Best to trim it down or stake it?  

There's no way to know the best way to treat it if you don't know what it is. Leave it alone and wait a few years