Use a sharp, clean pruning saw for the large cuts (over 1" diameter). A good rule of thumb is to cut back to a branch that is at least 1/3 of the diameter of the branch you're cutting at that point.ĭon't use a pruning sealer/wound dressing. Use your judgement, don't cut one back super far, or you will end up with a 'witches broom' head of waterspouts.
Remove the tallest stems, down to an outward facing lateral. You will be cutting back the tallest branches a little, not more than you need to, just to get the tree down a bit. Avoid making cuts bigger than 2" in diameter, if possible. Try not to remove more than 1/6 - 1/4 of the growth this way. Favor wider crotches rather than narrow ones, where applicable. When thinning, favor branches that point outward from the center, removing ingrowth/upgrowth. Pear trees don't like a hard pruning very well, so a light pruning yearly is better than a heavy pruning every few years. Always cut back to a branchlet or crotch on a larger limb (over 1" diameter), and back to an outward facing bud/twig on smaller growth. Remove all dead branches, and crossed (rubbing)/broken growth. The first part of the tree is grown like a central leader (christmas tree type) tree, then the leader is trained out, and the center opened up into an open center style (to let in light, and maintain manageable height), higher up on the tree. Open center is great for some fruit trees, like peaches and apricots, because it lets in more sun, for better ripening, but is often not strong enough for a full crop of pears, as well as being hard to train pears into. My favorite pruning method for a standard pear tree is a cross between central leader and open center, called a 'modified central leader'.īasically, central leader has the benefit of being the strongest form, but gets quite tall, and doesn't let as much sun reach the center. Pear trees show very strong apical dominance, and will naturally grow rather tall and narrow, not the best for fruiting. This will vary by the age, rootstock, and overall vigor of your particular tree. How should you go about pruning the pear tree so as not to cause permanent damage?īasically, you only want to cut limbs small enough to heal over in one season, if possible.
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