I know ya'll get these types of questions all the time, so I do appreciate your patience and willingness to share your knowledge. I planted three pears this spring: chojuro, 20th century, and Ayers. Each is in a different stage of development. The chojuro I purchased bare root from Stark Bros; it arrived as a pruned whip roughly 3 feet tall. I bought the 20th century and Ayers from a local nursery - Rabbit Ridge. Both are beautiful and well cared for. The roots were in excellent shape when I planted them and not circling the pot. The 20th century is about 5 feet tall. The Ayers is maybe 9 feet tall. I would like to train all three of these trees to a central leader. See images of their forms below. You'll notice the 20th century and Ayers have some blackened leaves. I'm pretty sure they desiccated during the 40 minute drive from the nursery to my house.

I'd be grateful for advice on how to begin shaping these trees. Let's start with the chojuro. Like I said, I'd like to do central leader. I understand pears tend to grow upright and will benefit from limb spreading. I've started to do this on the chojuro, using wooden clothespins to push the emerging branches downward. Should I be doing anything else with this tree this season? Do I need to do any pruning in late summer or spring of next year, or is it best to let it put on as much vegetative growth as possible for the time being? Is it a problem that the more vigorous shoot isn't the one at the very top? Will this complicate the pruning into a central leader?

On to the 20th century, which to my eye looks pretty good. The limbs are fairly horizontal. Suggestions on training this one? Do i need to pick a central leader at this point and push the competing leaders to a more horizontal position?

The Ayers is much more upright than the asians. Again, I'll push the lower limbs downward, but I'm not sure what else to do. Some of the potential scaffolds are quite long. Should I head these back in late summer? Do I need to pick a leader?

Finally, I cant seem to find a satisfactory answer about pollination of the Ayers. I've read some places that it is self fertile and other places that it has sterile pollen. Does anyone know for sure which is true? Also, will either of the asians pollinize the Ayers for better fruit set. I can't seem to find out if a) their bloom times will coincide or b) they are compatible pollinizers.

Sorry for the lengthy post. I do appreciate any advice you're willing to confer.

Chojuro

Chojuro Competing Leaders

20th Century

20th Century Top

Ayers

Ayers Top