Using Seed-Grown Pears to Pollinate Red d'Anjou

I bought about 18 bare-root fruit trees and am in the process of planting them.

I got them for $13 each.

I only got one pear tree, and now I am reading about pollination.


I'm not sure exactly what the needs of all the different apples, plums, and pear tree I got are.

But it looks like they need another tree in order to achieve pollination & produce fruit ?


Anyway, I have LOADS of pear seeds - and I don't feel like spending $50 on a potted pear tree now that the prices have gone up.

http://www.amherstnurseries.com/FruitTreePollinatorsChart-id-51.html

I found one chart. I think it's telling me that d'Anjou will not pollinate itself.


So - if I have a healthy pear tree that is not d'Anjou - even if grown from seed - is that good enough ? (to pollinate the d'Anjou)

"Commercial pears are harvested when they are 'mature,' he continued. "In pear language, that means they are picked when they have reached the point where they will ripen to good quality, sometimes with a little help, but definitely OFF the tree.
"So the frequently heard notion that pears are picked when they are still hard and green as a convenience for enduring the long truck ride to market misses the point," Sugar quipped.
Once commercial pears are picked, growers cool them down to about 30 degrees F. They don't freeze at this temperature, because the fruit sugar acts like an antifreeze.
"The colder the pears are, the longer they'll stay in good condition," said Sugar. "In fact, they actually need to be cooled in order to ripen properly."
Bartlett pears need to be cooled only for a day or two, and winter pears such as Anjou, Bosc and Comice require 2 to 6 weeks for optimal effect, he said.
"Without this chilling process, a mature picked pear will just sit and sit and eventually decompose without ever ripening," explained Sugar.
The pears sold in the grocery store or delivered by companies such as Harry and David are mature and have already received their postharvest chilling. They are ready to ripen, according to Sugar.
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Unless you can provide cold storage to ripen your fruit....its pretty much an ornamental...

I believe your best choice is a Bartlett..... I believe they can just be put in the refrigerator for a couple weeks then taken out and they will ripen on the counter top.....

You also may look into summer pears .... some of which may be eaten off the tree I believe....

The seed Idea may work but it will take years for it to flower.....

My advice would be to wait until next year.....

#1 - Don't expect much(if any) fruit the first year. It will take 3-5 years to fruit depending on the trees age.

#2 - Your trees will establish and be more vigorous in following years, if you pick off all flowers this year.

#3 - Budley's right, those seeds will take longer than the 3-5 years to flower that the trees will. Best to spend the extra dough on a variety that will pollinate d'Anjou, and plant them now.

Otherwise, 18 x $13 = all for nothing.