Juicy-sweet home-grown pears are within reach if proper pruning care promotes the fruit wood. This tutorial explains in a practical way when and how to professionally prune a pear tree. Detailed instructions explain how to grow and maintain a pear as a majesticround-crowned treeor space-savingspindle tree
How do I properly prune a pear tree?
To properly prune a pear tree, perform training or maintenance pruning in early spring. Remove dead wood, unfavorable shoots and encourage young fruit wood. Cut back scaffolding shoots and be sure to tear off wild shoots.
Why is pear tree pruning useful?
Pears are among thestrongest growing fruit trees Their appearance is characterized by a slender pyramidal crown with numerous, tightly upright shoots. Both attributes require occasional intervention with scissors and saws. It is important to reduce the growth rate and bring it into a garden-friendly format. Furthermore, steep shoots are not suitable for fruiting wood, which must be corrected as part of pruning care. Last but not least, you should stay on the heels of the cheeky wild shoots that sprout from the rootstock and want to overgrow the noble pear.
Cutting types and dates in brief
A pear tree bears the most productive fruit wood on two- and three-year-old long shoots in the form of short spikes, each with a flower bud. What is advantageous is thatfruit wood remains vitalfor up to 6 years. From year to year, the spears branch out more and more and produce flower buds that turn into juicy pears. Pruning care aims to create astable, durable frameworkin the first few years for theshorter-lived fruit wood This specifically means that following the Pruning a pear tree should be pruned at intervals of 5 or 6 years. The following table summarizes all relevant cutting types and recommended dates:
| Cut style | Target | best date | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educational cut round crown | Train high trunk with an advantageous round crown | early spring (February to early March) | every year 6 to 15 years after planting |
| Preservation cut round crown | Clear out dead wood, promote young fruit wood | early spring (February to early March) | every 3 to 5 years after completing education |
| Pruning Spindle Tree | Build the spindle tree in an ideal shape | early spring (February to early March) | from 1st to 3rd year |
| Preservation cut spindle | Maintain spindle shape, promote fruit wood | early spring or summer | following education |
Parallel to each type of cut, please pay attention to bold wild shoots. The best pear tree varieties are grafted onto a robust wild base. Shoots of water tirelessly emerge from this base, drawing nutrients and water away. With rapid growth, the blind shoots strive to overgrow the noble part. If you notice a wild shoot pointing steeply upwards, please tear it down. A cut leaves too much tissue residue from which the cheeky wildlings sprout again.
Training a pear tree with a round crown
A predominantly round crown receives better light and is easier to harvest. Although pears naturally form a cone-shaped crown, you can direct the growth into the advantageous round shape with training pruning. As the image below illustrates, the central shoot and scaffold branches are at a perfect angle to each other. Experience has shown that it takes 6 to 12 years until a perfect crown structure is completed on the standard or half trunk. How to do it right:
- Select a vertical central shoot with three side shoots as a crown framework
- Cut off all remaining side branches just before the trunk
- Spread steeply upward leading branches with wood to an ideal angle of 45 to 60 degrees to the central shoot
- Tie up a flat scaffold shoot with sisal to the desired angle
From the second year onwards, the training cut is dedicated to the optimal crown shape. Every spring, first remove all shoots that grow inwards and vertically. On the four scaffold shoots, cut back theprevious year's growth by a third. It is important that the central shoot continues to form an angle of 90 to 120 degrees with its leading branches. Already during the training phase, the scaffold shoots bear the first, short fruit wood. Cut these fruit skewers to an ideal distance of 10 to 20 centimeters. It is important that you rigorously cut away all shoots that compete with the central shoot.
A pear tree develops a round, sap-like crown with a central shoot and three leading branches. The correct training cut ensures that the central shoot and leading branches are at an ideal angle of 90 to 120 degrees.
Excursus
Spreading shows branches the perfect direction of growth
In order for a leading branch in the crown structure to produce valuable fruit wood, it must not grow too steeply. Ideally, the supporting crown shoot is at anangle of 45 to 60 degrees to the vertical central shoot It does not strive for this growth on its own. By spreading a taut upward branch, you direct growth to the desired angle of inclination. This is easy to do with pieces of wood that you notch at both ends. Branches of elderberry or willow are ideal as spreading wood. The proven method is also suitable for bringing the scaffolding shoots of a pear tree crown into the juice scale.
Pruning promotes young fruit wood
Once a pear tree has completed training as a standard or half trunk, pruning is only part of the care program every 3 to 5 years. Fruit wood thrives on the permanent crown structure, giving you juicy pears for up to 5 years. The time period in which you prune a majestic pear depends on the local conditions, the potential crown expansion and the variety planted. The following cut has proven itself very well in the home garden:
- Remove at the beginning: dead wood, competition with the central shoot, inward-directed shoots
- No longer cut back scaffolding shoots, but slim them down with a derivation cut
- Rejuvenate drooping, old fruit shoots using fruit wood cutting
Please pay particular attention to the shoots that initially grow flat from the scaffolding shoot and only later change to steep upward growth. Over time, valuable fruit wood will form on these branches. Do not remove or spread these shoots. Under the weight of their fruit, they bend down of their own accord.
Background
Fruit wood is the focus of cutting care - this is how fruit wood cutting works
After a fruit shoot has carried its sweet pear load for several years, it bends to the ground. At the same time, vitality and flowering decrease noticeably. After 6 years at the latest, it is time for a rejuvenating fruit woodcut. As the illustration below shows, the aged fruit wood makes room for a young shoot decorated with buds that grows diagonally upwards and outwards. Where both shoots fork, make the cut.
Old fruit wood has to give way every 3 to 6 years. Cut off drooping, worn shoots where young fruit wood branches diagonally outwards and upwards.
Train and preserve pear trees as spindles
In the modern home garden, growing space is limited. Of course, you don't have to miss out on the joy of home-grown pears. Cultivated as aspace-saving spindle treethere is a suitable place for the pear in the smallest garden. Another advantage of the pear spindle is that it starts harvesting early from the second or third year onwards.
- Train pear spindle with 1 dominant central shoot, from which 5 to 7 side shoots branch off as fruiting wood
- 1. and 2nd year: remove excess steep shoots, slim down side fruit shoots to an internal young shoot
- From the 3rd year: heavily branched side branches lead to a short, young side shoot
- Every year: cut out dead, unfavorable and weak branches
If there are not enough side shoots along the central shoot at a flat angle of 45 to 60 degrees, spread out the most promising specimens, similar to growing a round crown on the standard trunk. All remaining steep shoots are removed. Only shorten the central shoot when the spindle has reached its final height. Conservation pruning focuses on clearing out dead wood and rejuvenating fruit pruning.
Frequently asked questions
Is a second pear tree absolutely necessary for fertilization?
All pears depend on a suitable pollinator in close proximity. Mother Nature did not intend for pear trees to self-pollinate. Even efforts by competent fruit tree breeders to develop self-pollinating varieties have so far come to nothing. For a rich harvest of juicy, sweet pears, at least two trees are required.
Can I keep a pear tree in a pot on the terrace?
Keeping in a pot in a sunny, wind-protected location is no problem. It is important to ensure a balanced supply of water and nutrients. Furthermore, the vessel should have a volume of at least 25 liters.
Our pear tree bears a lot of fruit. Most rot and fall off before they are even ripe. What can I do?
Too much fruit is pure stress for a pear tree. There is a lack of nutrients so that the individual fruits can ripen. A lack of potassium in particular causes pears to rot prematurely, which plays into the hands of pests. Regular thinning of the crown in early spring helps prevent fruit rot. You should also rejuvenate old fruit wood every three to five years. We recommend a balanced, organic nutrient supply starting with the leaves emerging. In addition, you should give a ripening fertilizer in July and August, such as Thomaskali or Kalimagnesia.
The 3 most common cutting mistakes
The excellent pruning tolerance makes it possible to correct pear pruning errors even after years. The following table lists three typical beginner mistakes when pruning pear trees and gives tips for correction or effective prevention.
| Cutting errors | malicious image | Correction/Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Education with too many scaffolding drives | crown too dense, poor fruit quality, risk of fruit rot | Select 3 evenly distributed side scaffold shoots, remove all others |
| Competitive shoots for the central shoot not thinned out | Shadow cast by steep shoots, massive height growth, little fruit wood | Thin out steep shoots that compete with the middle shoot |
| Wild shoots not removed | Total failure after a few years | uproot every wild shoot promptly |
Tip
If your small garden lacks space to grow two pear trees, simply plant one tree with three types of pears. The “pear family tree” saves the need for an additional pollinator. Since summer, autumn and winter pears gather on the tree, the harvest window remains open for a particularly long time.