[FCG]

I in my slapdash wisdom bought 2 fruit trees from Lidl, a Beurre Hardy Pear and a Jonagold Apple. Now i've just found out they are both self sterile (or near enough) and the apple is a tripoloid. Not good apparantly. So i'm wondering (short of uprooting them, or planting another tree) what i could do. There is a plum next door and two extremely large crab apples on the field next to me. I'm expecting a very poor harvest of fruit. What would your advice be? If push comes to shove i can uproot the pear and replace it with something that will be self fertile -and- pollinate the Jonagold or just remove the jonagold altogether and put a self fertile apple in.

[richyrich7]

Having the 2 crab apples locally and also there's probably other apples about you may get a crop albeit smaller all depends if those crab's flower at the same time as yours.

As for the pear you could try planting another type if you have room or they may be another tree local that the bee's know about and you don't

[paintedlady]

When you first posted about your acquisitions, I posted 2 links that could give you more information about suitable pollination partners (it gives loads of examples)  This link (hopefully) will take you to your original post and the links:

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?p=313705&highlight=jonagold#313705

[FCG]

Thanks painted lady, i didn't remember anyone giving advice about the pollination... just remembered how to properly feed them from that thread. So thanks again.

Edit: Oddly unrelated i've browsed those pages today myself doing reserch, so has anyone got any other tips? Oh and rich there is another apple tree locally with huge apples and another crab with small red ones i forgot about. I'm kicking myself now for not getting a conference instead of a beurre hardy.

[calibra]

Im not certain with apples and pears but, but you can spray some fruit with GA3 (gibberelic acid) to set fruit tree flowers , normaly seedless fruit, i am sure i have read it works to give fruit on apples, if not pears.

[FCG]

Had a look online for that, cant find a supplier. Would they sell it in nurseries?

Also, would it be worth just uprooting the jonagold and getting one that will pollinate the pear and be partially self fertile? I would be able to do that. Plus i have some space on the field to plant the apple.

[SG6]

Jonagold is a triploid but it should get pollinated by the nearby apples, depending on how close of course. Also when do they all flower.

The Beurre Hardy will need a pollinator. So you have to decide if you want another pear or not. If you do but do not want anything of great size I would suggest that you think of one of the columnar fruit trees from Ken Muir. They are basically sticks that flower, occasionally bear fruit.  

I have one to pollinate an asian pear I have and that is all I have it for. It literally is an 8 ft stick with blossom as the asian pear will not pollinate it. But the asian pear usually bears a large crop owing to its presence.

You could buy one that will pollinate the Beurre Hardy and be pollinated by it, and see how the columnar crops. Should get some off of it.

Problem may be that one columnar will cost more then the 2 you have bought.