How to properly trim and shape a pear: diagram + video for beginners

The pear is perhaps the second most popular fruit tree after the apple tree among gardeners in our country. Thanks to its many varieties, it is grown in a wide variety of regions, but this tree requires more serious care than many other seed crops. One of the necessary care measures is pruning a pear - a procedure that allows you not only to increase productivity, but also to significantly improve the health of the tree and extend its active fruiting period.

When is it better to prune a pear tree: in autumn or spring?

Pear pruning can be done not only in spring and autumn, but also in winter and summer. However, this is not always advisable and not all types of pruning can be done at this time.For example, in summer you can break out or cut out green, non-lignified shoots if they are not growing properly. This will save the plant strength; it will not have to waste nutrients on the development of such unnecessary branches.

Winter pruning is good because the tree is in hibernation and will more easily withstand the surgical procedure. In areas where winters are warm and short, winter pruning is practiced quite successfully. However, in most regions there is a high probability of return frosts, so a weakened tree may well die. Pruning in winter is recommended only if the air temperature remains around -10 °C, and there is no guarantee that it will drop further.

The traditional time for pear pruning is spring and autumn. Most types of pruning can be done at this time:

• sanitary;
• rejuvenating;
• supportive;
• formative.

Spring and autumn pruning have their own deadlines. Failure to comply with them can lead to the fact that the tree will take a very long time to recover, and in some cases may even die.

Pear pruning time

Both spring and autumn pruning of pear trees should only be carried out if the plant is dormant. You absolutely should not delay this procedure. If pruning is done in the spring after the beginning of the growing season, the recovery period will drag on for months, the tree will hurt for a long time, trying to heal the constantly weeping wounds. Carrying out autumn pruning too late can lead to the weakened tree going into the winter with unhealed wounds and dying from frost.

The exact timing of pruning greatly depends on the climate in the growing region.In spring, you need to focus on average daily temperatures: as soon as the thermometer starts to rise above zero (usually March or early April), you need to get down to business without delay.

At the same time, the tree should not show signs of the beginning of the growing season, i.e., swollen buds. The spring pruning period is very short. If spring begins amicably, there is a very high chance that the tree will begin to flow sap, which means that pruning will have to be postponed until autumn.

Autumn pruning can take place at a more relaxed pace. It can be carried out in several stages without fear of being late. The most important thing is to meet 2 conditions:

1. The tree should go into hibernation (the end of leaf fall).
2. There should be at least 1 month left before the onset of cold weather.

Autumn pruning is usually done in early October, and in the southern regions - in November.

How to prune a pear tree in spring

Among gardeners, spring is considered the best time to prune pear trees. Indeed, if all necessary conditions are met, the recovery period after the procedure will take minimal time, and the tree will become healthier and increase productivity. There are a number of rules for spring pruning that must be followed for the proper growth and development of the plant:

1. All pruning work must be carried out within strictly established time frames.
2. The basis for the health of a tree is a strong frame, so it is necessary to remove shoots that compete with skeletal branches in a timely manner.
3. There should be no forks on the trunk, otherwise there is a high probability that the tree will simply break in two over time.
4. The procedure must be carried out taking into account the age of the tree. Excessive pruning of young plants can lead to a significant delay in their development.
5. When carrying out anti-aging pruning, it is better to remove one large branch than a large number of small ones. In this case, you need to select in advance a substitute shoot to which the direction of growth will be transferred.
6. Pear fruiting occurs on horizontal branches, so branches located at right angles to the trunk are promising. All shoots that emerge at sharp angles must be removed or their direction of growth must be corrected using braces or changing the direction of growth by pruning to a strong lateral shoot.

Pruning pears in spring for beginners

How to prune a young pear

In the first years after planting, the crown of a young tree is formed in a certain way. This is done to ensure uniform fruiting, as well as for ease of maintenance work. Most often, the crown of a pear is formed in a sparsely tiered manner. It consists in the formation of several (usually 3) fruit tiers on the tree, on which the main fruiting occurs.

Pruning of a young pear to form its crown in a sparse-tiered manner is carried out over several years. This is done as follows. In the first year after planting, the seedling is pruned at a height of 65-70 cm from the ground (seedlings on a dwarf rootstock - 50 cm). This will give impetus to the development of side shoots, which will subsequently become the skeletal branches of the 1st tier. For the growth of skeletal branches, several strong buds are left; all those located below (in the trunk area) must be combed.

Pruning a two-year-old pear

Pruning a pear seedling in the second year continues the formation of the first tier. To do this, leave 3-4 powerful side shoots, evenly extending from the trunk and spaced 10-12 cm from each other. They are shortened by about ¼. Pruning is done to the outer bud according to the principle of subordination (branches growing below should not rise above those growing above). The central conductor is shortened so that it is 20-25 cm higher than the side ones. All other shoots (tops, competitors, standard and root shoots) are removed “on a ring”.

Pruning a three-year-old pear

Pruning a three-year-old pear tree is not much different from working with a two-year-old one. From the shoots of the 2nd level, the 1st fruit tier continues to form and the second one begins to form. For it, choose 2 strong shoots directed in opposite directions. The rest are cut into a ring.

The central conductor is cut by about ¼. All young pear shoots are cut to a length of 25 cm. If the angles of departure are insufficient, some shoots are bent and fixed with stretch marks.

Pruning a 4-year-old pear

In the fourth year, the formation of the pear tree is usually completed. For the 3rd tier, choose 1 strong shoot, most well located in relation to the skeletal branches of the 2nd tier. Directly above this shoot, the central conductor is cut off.

Pruning a 5-year-old pear and older trees consists of maintaining the specified dimensions, lightening the crown and sanitary cutting of diseased and damaged branches.

How to prune an old pear tree

Often a gardener has to deal with old, neglected trees. Most often they are cut down. However, planting and growing a new fruit-bearing pear tree will take quite a long time. So we can try rejuvenate it by trimming. In this way, even an old tree can sometimes be brought back to life and actively bear fruit.

Working with old trees has its own characteristics. All work must be carried out in the spring, in accordance with weather conditions, observing 2 basic principles:

1. The air temperature remained above zero around the clock.
2. The tree shows no signs of the beginning of the growing season.

The procedure for rejuvenating pruning of an old pear tree is as follows:

1. The central conductor is shortened so that 2 hearth tiers can be formed from the remaining branches at a distance of 1 m from each other. Sometimes the tree is simply cut in half.
2. 7 strong branches are left on each tier, the rest are cut into a ring
3. On all remaining skeletal branches, improperly growing, crossing, competitive, diseased and broken shoots are removed, regardless of their thickness, and the tops on the pear are also pruned.
4. All young growth on the trunk and in the root zone is removed.

In this way, the internal space of the crown becomes open, it receives more sun, and air exchange inside the tree is normalized. This stimulates the growth and development of young shoots, and also restores fruiting.

How to prune a columnar pear

Columnar trees are currently becoming increasingly popular. They are distinguished not only by good fruiting, but also by their beautiful appearance. At the same time, the compact crown and small size make tree care very simple. Pruning columnar pear tree management consists of timely removal of diseased, broken and dry branches, as well as maintaining the tree crown in the required dimensions. When the yield decreases, thinning is carried out, removing part of the thickening shoots.

Pruning dwarf pears

Dwarf varieties of pears are similar in the principle of formation to a regular tree. A dwarf pear is formed as follows:

1. In the first year, the central conductor is cut at a height of 0.5 m.
2. In the second year, the entire annual growth is shortened to a height of 40-50 cm. The branches growing at an acute angle to the trunk are cut into a ring. The central conductor is cut at a height of 40 cm above the highest lateral branch.
3. In the third year and subsequent years, horizontal branches up to 30 cm long are left for fruiting; strong ones are pruned into 2-4 buds.
4. The central conductor is shortened to a height of 0.4 m above the highest branch, as in previous years.

You can increase the angle of lateral shoots at a more mature age using twine stretchers.

Features of pear pruning in summer

Summer pruning of an adult pear involves pinching out improperly growing young shoots - shelling. It is done using fingers and nails. Green, non-lignified shoots can be shelled very easily. This kind of pruning of pears in June-August can significantly reduce the amount of work in the fall, and also stimulates the tree to direct nutrients not to forcing out excess branches, but to ripening the fruits.

In addition to shelling, in the summer it is sometimes necessary to carry out forced sanitary pruning of the pear. The need for it arises if the tree has been damaged as a result of strong wind, hail or other factors. Sanitary pruning may also be required in case of disease or pest damage.

Pear pruning rules

The pear tree grows intensively only in the first years of life, then the growth rate decreases. To prevent pruning from causing serious damage to the plant, certain rules must be followed:

1. In order for the tree to grow well and bear fruit, pruning must be done annually.
2. In order not to complicate the work with the crown, after planting the seedling must be cut at a height of no more than 1 m and no less than 0.6 m, otherwise the lower fruit tier will be too high or very low.
3. Removal of shoots “in a ring” is done at the base of the ring influx in the place where its growth begins. A cut that is too deep will take a very long time to heal, but if you leave a large stump, a shoot will begin to develop from it again.
4. Pruning “to the bud” is done above a promising bud. In this case, the direction of the cut should coincide with the direction of its growth, and the top of the cut should be at the same level as the top of the bud.
5. Tops can be removed throughout the season.
6. The growth of skeletal branches must be transferred from vertical to horizontal by pruning to a strong lateral bud.
7. All growth is transferred to the side shoots according to the principle of subordination: strong at the bottom, weak at the top.
8. Competitive shoots growing parallel to the central conductor must be removed.

Compliance with these simple rules will promote long active fruiting and maintain the health of pear trees.

How to properly form the crown of a pear

The formation of the pear crown begins immediately after planting and ends in the 4th year in the spring. During this time, 2 or 3 fruit tiers are formed in the crown. Different varieties of pear trees have different degrees of branching, therefore the number of skeletal branches is different. In weakly branching varieties, 7-8 of them are planted; for highly branching varieties, 5-6 are enough.

How to prune a large pear

A fully formed pear tree has a height of 4-4.2 m. It must be maintained within these limits. Therefore, it is very important to cut out vertically growing shoots in time or transfer their growth to lateral ones. To work with the upper tier, you can use a special pruner with an extension or a stepladder. The transparency of the crown is of great importance, so it is necessary to constantly remove thickening branches from mature trees.

If a pear has two trunks, which one should be cut?

In most cases, the pear tree has a pronounced central conductor, that is, one trunk. The second trunk becomes a competitor shoot that was not cut out in time. As a rule, the main trunk has a branched crown, while the competitor is straight and, as a rule, there is no fruiting on it. You need to carefully examine both trunks. It may well turn out that the second one is a top. Such trunks definitely need to be cut down.

If the trunk grows from the trunk below the grafting site, then this is a non-varietal shoot. It can be used as a rootstock for grafting cuttings of the desired variety if the fruit-bearing tree is old enough and is planned to be cut down.

Is it possible to trim the top of a pear tree?

The crown (the upper part of the central conductor) is cut off repeatedly during the process of crown formation. The last time it is cut is in the 4th year, transferring growth to a side shoot and thereby laying the 3rd fruit tier.The top of the head is never pruned only on columnar pear varieties.

Pear pruning scheme

In addition to the sparse-tiered one, the following schemes can be used to form the crown of a pear:

1. Improved longline.
2. Cup-shaped.
3. Fusiform.
4. Semi-flat.

In accordance with which of them to form a fruit tree, the gardener himself decides. If desired, you can even form a pear into a bush. Each of the schemes has its own advantages and disadvantages.

For example, the cup-shaped one allows you to significantly reduce the height of the tree, which is convenient when working with the crown, but greatly increases its dimensions and the fruit load on the skeletal branches. The spindle-shaped tree is convenient because it allows you to form a small-sized pyramidal-shaped tree with a relatively high yield.

Conclusion

Pruning of pear trees in spring is necessary. However, it is worth considering that the gardener does not always have the opportunity to combine his personal free time with suitable weather conditions. Often the first visit to the garden after winter occurs when the trees have already entered the growing season. In this case, you should not try to trim at any cost. If the deadlines are missed, it is better to postpone it to the autumn period.

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