When to Prune Pear Trees
- 1). Understand how pear trees grow. Pear trees do not grow fruit on the ends of the branches, but on the short spurs that form between the branches. These spurs have to be thinned regularly, and old ones should be removed to make room for new, healthy ones. Sometimes, pear trees will drop their fruit early so that they can self-thin, but you can help them along by trimming the spurs back yourself.
- 2). Trim the pear tree back so that it has one strong central stem with branches coming off the side. These branches should be evenly spaced, with wide rather than narrow angles. Too many narrow angles can cause the limbs to separate from the trunk when the tree reaches maturity, causing an increased chance of damage and disease.
- 3). Pick a date in the late summer. If you wait until the late summer, you don't have to worry about too much re-growing. This is because pear trees are typically done growing for the year around this time, and their wood has hardened. If you live in an area that has severe winters, wait until later in the winter to do your pruning.
- 4). Remove extra limbs. If there are branches that cross over one another, or appear crowded or too vertically-angled, remove them each year.
- 5). Prune pear trees regularly if they're young. This will help keep them from getting too tall, and makes it far easier to reach the fruit on the upper branches. Maintain a regular pruning schedule so that your pear trees have the healthiest growing environment. This way they can continue to yield healthy, delicious fruit.
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