Not sure why they cut back so much...perhaps taproot only on those large roots with no little feeder root....pears tend to do this, you have some feeder root but not much, it should grow but a very slow start in the first year.

This is often the case with pears. The roots are not fibrous and just head down and nurseries don't make an adequate effort to lift more root. I believe that's one reason they are so sluggish coming out of he shoot.

I've ordered from a commercial nursery that wouldn't guarantee their pear trees if you didn't drastically cut them back. The salesman told me he visited a commercial orchard down south somewhere where 1,000 pear trees died because the buyer failed to do this- whatever the Whitcomb research may say.

I don't know for sure what's the best way to manage them but I don't usually cut them back and almost all trees live and give a little spurt of growth the first year.

The best growing pear in my orchard looked like that when it went in the ground. I figured it was a lost cause, but it took right off...amazed me.

As said before I think it is pretty common for a lot of root to get lost in comercial digging with pears.

AC sent me a pear last spring with very little in the way of roots. It took awhile, but it did leaf out and grow. I thought it was toast.

What did Dave Wilson nursery say when you contacted them about this issue? Just curious.

Wow, thanks for all the replies! I put a similar post with pics to Dave Wilson's forum this morning but no reply yet. The trees have been soaking overnight so I'd better get out there are start planting the ones with roots!