A: Hood pears are a good choice for Northeast Florida but this pear will need a pollinator. I recommend you use Baldwin as it pollinates any of those pears requiring pollination. Other varieties which can be planted in our area are Flordahome, Hood, and Pineapple which are all early fruit producers. Baldwin, Cames, Kieffer, Orient, and Tenn, which are late fruit producers, are also suitable for North Florida. Apply one pound of fertilizer annually for each year of age of the tree until it reaches ten years of age. Divide the annual fertilizer in half and apply once in January and again in June. Use 8-8-8 or 6-6-6 and broadcast it completely under the canopy of the tree. Be sure to water it in slightly to the roots will have access to it. Keep lawn grass as far away from the trees as possible. Planting pears from seed is risky as they will not necessarily have the same characteristics of the parent plant. It is better to purchase a pear grafted onto a reliable rootstock. Pears will ripen as they age but pick them just before ripening and store at room temperature. http://dixie.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/gardening/pear.pdf

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