Reply #9: Pears are difficult. [View All]

[Dora]

If you let them ripen on the tree for too long, they develop grit and aren't nearly as pleasant to eat.

I haven't yet figured out the exact "when" to pick pears off of our tree. But I don't have any fruit this year, so no loss.

It's my understanding that your pears will no longer be rock hard, and will give slightly when pressed at the stem end. They may continue to ripen somewhat after picking, but don't keep them at room temperature for too many days (I think it's that aforementioned grit). They keep best stored cool or cold.

Be sure to keep the ground underneath the pear tree free from fallen and rotting fruit. The methane that the rotting fruit gives off will cause other (unripe) fruit to drop. That's the advice I was given by a landscaper I met last year.