Pruning my pear tree

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

I just moved to a new house and discovered I have a few fruit trees. At the end of fall I found a pear on one... Looked to me like a Bosc pear but not sure. I want to bring it back and hopefully enjoy some pears this coming season. I need pruning help and I do have some pictures. It looks to have had some wind damge years ago and leans quite a bit. It's is flowering now but appears to have a section that might be dead maybe? I think there was also some fire blight but I trimmed that out. Also I have several large branches that droop like a weeping willow and the rest mostly reach upward. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have researched pruning but I need pruning for dummies lol

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Comments (7)

TurkeyCreekTrees Zone 5B
11 years ago
A few basics, remove all dead wood, remove limbs that are rubbing against each other and remove limbs growing toward the interior of the tree for starters.
southard72
Original Author
11 years ago
Is it ok to do tht now or do I need to wait till winter?
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TurkeyCreekTrees Zone 5B
11 years ago
Dead wood should come out now. I would wait on the rest now that the tree is actively growing.
southard72
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you!
southard72
Original Author
11 years ago

If I add another picture (closer up and hopefully not sideways) could you possibly answer one more question? I was wondering how far down to cut the dead branch? It's the one on the right that grows straight up. There are only 2 branches with leaves on it and the rest is dead but those 2 branches look like fire blight so I'd like to cute them off as well. My worry is it makes up most of that side of the tree and since its leaning so bad I wasn't sure if I would make it to uneven and to heavy on that side. The tree seems very sturdy. The branch is about 9-10 feet tall from where it is attached to tree. Thanks in advance!

I don't know why it's is sideways because when I rotate pic it still comes out sideways sorry

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TurkeyCreekTrees Zone 5B
11 years ago
Cut the dead limb back to live wood. Your tree is not ideal with the lean. Ideally it would be best to cut it off and plant a new one! However I assumed from the start that it wasnt something you wanted to do. A couple of things you can do is one stake the tree so it does not lean more. Or second you could water the tree extremely well and actually try to upright it somewhat by pulling it. That is going to damage some roots, so stake it afterwards until it can stabilize itself over a couple of years. In the meantime plant a new tree and take good care of it. In 6-8 years you will have a healthy pear, producing fruit.
southard72
Original Author
11 years ago
Ok I will definitely cut the branch back this weekend. And I will stake it to be safe. You're right, I really don't want to start over by planting another. And I would be scared to try an upright it myself by soaking the soil...my luck it would die! I've never had any fruit trees and I'm just excited to see what happens! I also believe I have several persimmons trees and an old grape vine on a trellis. The persimmons looked great last year so I think they're fine but the grape vine looks to be in rough shape...any advice for that? Thank you sourh for all your help!! I've just moved to this house about 7 months ago and the grounds were neglected for years