Q. How do I know when it’s time to pick my pears? Last year I picked them when I thought they were ripe, but they were bad (the cores were brown and mushy). European pears need to be harvested when ...

Grumpy helps a reader deal with their diseased pear tree. Plus, the plant of the week. "Do you know what causes some of my pear trees, leaves and branches to turn brown and die? It still produces ...

Bradford pears are blooming all over parts of America: pretty, but a problem! NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with master gardener Jessica Damiano about the trees. Well, they're certainly pretty right now.

Sure, they're pretty, and their white blooms are a harbinger of spring. But they also omit an unpleasant odor reminiscent of rotten fish — and that's not even their biggest problem. Bradford pear ...