I have recently bought a pear tree to go on the balcony. Since i've had it the fruit has fallen off and the leaves have small brown dots on them. It's had plenty of water and was previously stored outside in the garden centre. Thanks in advance!
What variety is this pear tree ? I have never heard of putting a pear tree on a balcony unless its a small hybrid variety specifically for container gardens ! How long have you had this tree ? Did you re-pot it or is it still in the container from the garden center ? Is it in full sun ?
I don‘t know it may be fungal judging by the second picture. The powdery patches are what lead me to suspect this.
Usually pears have few problems ! But I am guessing its a combination of a fungal problem from over watering ! Pears do best when soil remains slightly on the dry side, minimal water if in a pot and full sun ! Just need more information about it !
Thanks for the responses, unfortunately i threw away the tag after buying and didn't catch the exact name, although it was sold as a dwarf pear tree and did say it was suitable for a pot. @mart I have had the tree about a month now and was repotted in a slightly bigger pot after buying from the garden centre. It's in direct sun for about 50% of the day, i made a few more holes in the pot underneath as it didn't seem like the drainage was working too well.
The soil is relatively damp, now I can see some of the leaves are yellow and there black small dots on the underside of some of the top leaves. There aren’t any cedar tree in the area.
I found that everybody and everything likes to eat pear. It likes a little bit acid soil, our yard pears grow well in 5-5.5pH but slightly higher at 6pH is better. You could use distilled water which is 6pH. The soil seems to be above the root crown. Bad idea, they like the top of the soil. You need an antifungal spray to help. Unfortunately someone might eat the pears so a systemic is out. @mart suggested a betadine wash once and I thought it was brilliant, but pear are so commonly sprayed as a commercial crop I am sure a local source will also have what you need, once you identify the root fungi. The most common soil borne white fungi I know is the one that acts as a decomposer of dead materials, and it can attack living plants but it would be a conditional cause of some sort. You will need an insecticide as well, as something is chewing the leaves. Usually a fungi would have a raised body where a bacteria from a bite would produce a sunken spot.
Thanks for the detailed advice! I’ll check that the soil isn’t above the root crown and go and buy some Anti fungal spray.
Betadine is perfectly safe to use on plants, animals or yourself ! Its just an antibiotic/antifungal but it is not systemic ! Best to use something from the garden center for that ! Betadine works for any surface problem and as a preventative ! What are all the little fine roots I see on top of the soil ?
