pear tree

lavender4

I planted a Conference pear tree about 18 months ago. It now has lots of trusses of tiny pears - sometimes as many as 6 to a truss. Should I take some off as they seem a bit crowded and I don't know if the stems can support so many pears when they get bigger. Or will they drop off themselves as necessary?

pansyface

The tree would naturally thin out its fruit without any help.

However, as this is the first year that it is due to produce fruit, I would severely limit the number of pears per branch as the tree is still building up its root system and branch structure. Too much weight could lead to broken branches. So this year I would say allow only one fruit per branch.

Next year, you can let it produce a few more and so on until it is mature and in full production.

It seems harsh, but it will pay off in the end.

Dovefromabove

The tree will normally drop a lot of small fruit in June ... that’s called the June Drop. I never thin fruit before that is over. 

But as Pansyface says, it’s best not to allow it to beat any fruit for the first few years. When my tree was 4 I allowed it to carry two fruit (and delicious they were too). The following year just a very few more and so on.