I planted numerous fruit trees about 7 years ago. These
included almond, pear, apple, hazelnut, and plum. The almond and apple
trees have done really well.
The pear, plum, and hazelnut trees have
never even bloomed, let alone borne fruit. Am I doing something wrong or
do I just need to be a little more patient?
All of your trees should be mature enough to flower and bear fruit, given
the right conditions. There are many potential causes of failure to
flower. Are your trees that have not flowered in a location that receives
high nitrogen fertilizer (such as near a lawn)? This would lead to lots
of leafy growth at the expense of flowers. Cold winter weather can also
damage buds and lead to no flowers.
The lack of fruit could be due to lack of pollination in addition to the
causes listed above. Do you have two or more pears (Pyrus) and hazelnuts (Corylus)? Is your
plum (Prunus) a variety that needs a pollenizer, or is it self-fertile? Raintree Nursery has information on flowering and fruiting for Corylus that says”Two different varieties or seedlings of similar flowering period,” are needed, and that “European Filbert flowers winterkill at -15 F. Others are hardier.”
Oregon State University Extension has fruit pollination charts, and there is an example from Burnt Ridge Nursery for European pears.
General information from University of Vermont Extension on failure to flower and failure to bear fruit from Washington State University Extension.