My Pear Tree

I planted a Dwarf Everbearing Collette pear tree approximately 4 years ago. Watching it grow has been relatively uneventful. I have never seen beautiful blossoms in the spring and the two pears it produced last year were a complete surprise that were discovered by my middle daughter when she plucked them from the tree well before they were ripe. I actually haven't been expecting too much from this tree since from my brief research I was lead to believe that a different variety of pear tree was required for good pollination. We haven't had a chance to clear a space for a second tree yet, so I figured we would just be growing something akin to a poor shade tree until we could make time to better groom our yard.

This year has been very different!

When I saw the tree covered in blossoms I thought maybe this would be all the excitement for the year. I didn't think the blossoms would actually pollinate with no other pear trees nearby. 

However, now the tree appears to be covered in gorgeous baby pears! I'm trying not to get too excited for a nice harvest of fruit since there are always so many variables in the gardening season ranging from invasion of pests to weather, and in my case - eager children. 

For some more information on the Everbearing Collette, this blog has a nice description of the fruit:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/homesandgardens/2009/09/collette_pear.html

Here's hoping . . . .