Fruit Tree Problems

Question

I am living in Newfoundland and I planted two plum and two pear trees about four years ago. The problem I am having is that my pear trees have spots about the size of a nickle and are rusty in colour. I would like to know what it is and how to fix it. Also, my plum trees haven’t blossomed since I planted them. Why and can I speed up this process? The pear trees have started to yeld fruit but they are scarce and small. Can I expect them to get bigger and they had black spots on them. I expected a late frost may be the reason.

Answer 1

It sounds like your pear tree has apple rust (which also affects pears). Here is more information on that: https://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fphg/pome/diseases/rust For the plum tree, it is likely just not yet mature enough to bear fruit. They can take 3-6 years to mature. It may bloom for you this year. You can add some bone meal to the soil and that may help.