Question
I have two pear trees in my yard. They were here when I moved in seven years ago. The last two years, the trees have multiple blooms starting out. When the fruit starts to form, many of them get to about the size of a small cherry and then stops growing. This past year it had spread to over half the tree, but the others form normally. Each year it's getting worse and I don't know what to do about it. It was just one tree doing it but this past year the other tree started doing the same thing. Please help, any help would be appreciated. Thank you so much in advance.

Answer
Dear Brenda, I apologize for the delay in answering your question.  I am attempting to install a new computer and don't have it set up yet, and also I wanted to consult with the local extension agent about your particular problem.  Here is the most likely reason for the problem with your pear trees:  Pear trees, along with apple, peach, pecan and other fruiting trees, are grown by grafting.  The root stock for your pear trees is likely a Bradford pear, or other largely unfruitful type of native pear.  The good edible pear is grafted onto the root stock which produces the good fruit.  Probably what has happened in your case is that the graft is dying out and what is left is going to be a fruitless pear.  If you look closely at the tree, you can probably find a split trunk, or the tree may be growing from below the rootstock, which usually is evidenced by a 'bend' near the base of the tree or as high up as five feet from the base.  Since the trees are already pretty big by now, there is probably not much you can do to remedy the situation.  They could be regrafted, but it would likely have limited success because of the diameter of the trunk, the age of the tree, and the amount of grafting that would need to be done.  Plus, getting that work done would be pretty expensive, and you wouldn't have a guarantee that this would eliminate the problem.  The best advice I can give is to either enjoy them as they are, since even fruitless pears area gorgeous, or simply to replace the trees.  By the way, fertilizing will not help the situation, and in any case it is not recommended to fertilize pear trees as it may make the plant susceptible to fire blight which can kill the tree in a short time.  Sorry that I can't get your trees back to full size fruit, but I hope this answers your question.  Good luck, Melissa