How to Prune Pear Trees in Winter
The sweet taste of a fresh pear is one of the hallmarks of late summer and early autumn. There are numerous varieties of pear trees to choose from, depending on where you live. Pears can be pruned in late winter before there is any evidence of growth. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Lopping shears or pruning saw
- Gardening gloves
- Pruning shears
- Bleach
- Bucket
Instructions
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Understand your tree. Different fruit trees fruit on different wood. In the case of pears, they flower and fruit on short twigs, know as spurs or old wood. So when pruning, it’s OK to prune back last year’s new growth.
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Prune younger trees for shape and strength. For older trees, prune for shape and producing quality fruit. The predominant shape should be that of Christmas tree (wider at the bottom), with a central trunk, and branches at 45 degree angles from the main trunk. Remove no more than 15 percent of last year's growth when pruning.
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Prune away all suckers (new branches) that grow from the rootstock near the base of the tree. This applies to both young and old trees, and should be done throughout the season. Note that suckers can actually sometimes appear a few inches away from the base of the trunk.
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Prune for the three D’s--dead, damaged and diseased. This should all be carefully removed. Also prune out branches that rub or chafe against each other--this can damage bark and invite disease and insects.
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Cut at a slant, angling away from the tree so water does not run into the tree’s center. Depending on the size of branch you made need to use pruning or lopping shears or a pruning saw. Remove all debris and cuttings.
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Tips & Warnings
Watch out for fireblight disease, which appears as what looks like burned or dried leaf and branch tips. Pears are susceptible to this. To minimize risk of spreading fireblight among limbs or individual trees, always prune pears with a a 10 percent bleach solution handy, and dip your pruning blades after each cut to sterilize them.
Avoid harmful pruning practices. These include topping the tree; cutting branches way back, known as tipping; ripping the bark or wood when cutting away a branch; cutting a branch flush to the trunk instead of outside the ridge; and stub cuts, where the cut is made straight up and down instead of at an angle to the tree.
Never severely prune a pear. This stimulates sucker production, and increases the tree's susceptibility to fireblight disease.
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Comments
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I have a pear tree and it bears delicious fruit, how do I prune it this winter before spring, it is getting bushy.
