How to cut 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 pome crops. One of the necessary care measures is pear pruning – a procedure that allows not only to increase productivity, but also significantly improve the tree and extend the period of its active fruiting.

When is the best time to prune a pear: 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 the summer you can break out or cut out green non-lignified shoots if they do not grow correctly. This will save the plant strength, it will not have to spend nutrients on the development of such unnecessary branches.

Winter pruning is good because the tree is in hibernation and will more easily endure the surgical procedure. In areas where winters are warm and short, winter pruning is practiced quite successfully. However, in most regions, the likelihood of returning frosts is high, so a weakened tree may well die. Pruning in winter is recommended only if the air temperature is kept around -10 ° C, and there is no chance of its further decrease.

The traditional pear pruning time is spring and autumn. At this time, most types of pruning can be carried out:

• sanitary;
• rejuvenating;
• supporting;
• formative.

Spring and autumn pruning have their own terms. Failure to comply with them can lead to the fact that the tree will be restored for a very long time, and in some cases it may even die.

pear pruning time

Both spring and autumn pear pruning should be carried out only if the plant is at rest. It is absolutely not necessary to delay this procedure. If pruning is done in spring after the beginning of the growing season, the recovery period will drag on for months, the tree will be sick for a long time, trying to heal constantly weeping wounds. Pruning too late in autumn can cause a weakened tree to go into the winter with unhealed wounds and die from frost.

The exact timing of pruning is highly dependent on the climate in the region of growth. In the 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 vegetation, i.e., swollen buds. The spring pruning period is very short. If spring begins amicably, there is a very high chance that the movement of juices will start at the tree, 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 steps, without fear of being late. Most importantly, meet 2 conditions:

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

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 pears. Indeed, if all the necessary conditions are met, the recovery period after the procedure will take a minimum time, and the tree will improve and increase productivity. There are a number of rules for spring pruning, which must be followed for the proper growth and development of the plant:

1. All pruning work must be carried out within a strict time frame.
2. The basis of the health of a tree is a strong frame, so you need to remove shoots that compete with skeletal branches in time.
3. There should be no forks on the trunk, otherwise it is likely that the tree will simply break in two over time.
4. The procedure should be carried out taking into account the age of the tree. Excessive pruning of young plants can lead to a significant lag in their development.
5. During anti-aging pruning, it is better to remove one large branch than a large number of small ones. In this case, it is necessary to select in advance the 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 emerging at sharp angles must be removed or their direction of growth must be corrected with braces or by cutting the direction of growth to a strong lateral shoot.

Pear pruning 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 so that the fruiting is uniform, as well as for the convenience of carrying out care work. Most often, the pear crown is formed in a sparse-tiered way. It consists in the formation of several (usually 3) fruit tiers near the tree, on which the main fruiting takes place.

Pruning of a young pear to form its crown in a sparse-tiered way is carried out for several years. This is done in the following way. In the first year after planting, the seedling is cut 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 later become the skeletal branches of the 1st tier. For the growth of skeletal branches, several strong buds are left, all located below (in the trunk zone) must be sniffed.

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 lateral shoots, evenly extending from the trunk and spaced 10-12 cm apart. They are shortened by about ¼. Pruning is done on the outer bud according to the principle of subordination (branches growing below should not rise above those growing above). The central conductor is shortened in such a way that it is 20-25 cm higher than the lateral ones. All other shoots (tops, competitors, standard and root shoots) are removed “on the ring”.

Pruning a three year old pear

Trimming a three-year-old pear is not much different from working with a two-year-old. Of the shoots of the 2nd level, the 1st fruit layer continues to form and the second one begins to form. For him, choose 2 strong shoots directed in opposite directions. The rest are cut out “on the ring.”

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

Pruning a 4 year old pear

In the fourth year, the formation of a pear tree, as a rule, is completed. For the 3rd tier, 1 strong shoot is chosen, which is most successfully located in relation to the skeletal branches of the 2nd tier. The central conductor is cut off directly above this shoot.

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

How to prune an old pear

Often the 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 some time. Therefore, you can try to rejuvenate it with pruning. In this way, even an old tree can sometimes be brought back to life and active fruiting.

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

1. The air temperature settled above zero around the clock.
2. There are no signs of the beginning of vegetation on the tree.

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. On each tier, 7 strong branches are left, the rest are cut out “on the ring”
3. On all left skeletal branches, improperly growing, crossing, competitive, diseased and broken shoots are removed, regardless of their thickness, and pear tops are also pruned.
4. All young shoots are harvested on the trunk and in the root zone.

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

How to trim a columnar pear

Columnar trees are now becoming increasingly popular. They differ not only in good fruiting, but also in a beautiful appearance. At the same time, the compact crown and small size make the work of tree care very simple. Pruning a columnar pear consists in the timely removal of diseased, broken and dry branches, as well as in maintaining the crown of the tree in the required dimensions. With a decrease in yield, thinning is performed, removing part of the thickening shoots.

Pruning dwarf pears

Dwarf pear varieties are similar in principle to the formation of an ordinary 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. Branches growing at an acute angle to the trunk are cut out “into a ring”. The center conductor is cut at a height of 40 cm above the highest side branch.
3. In the third year and subsequent ones, horizontal branches up to 30 cm long are left for fruiting, strong ones are cut into 2-4 buds.
4. The center conductor is shortened to a height of 0,4 m above the highest branch, as in previous years.

You can increase the angle of departure of lateral shoots at a more mature age with the help of twine stretch marks.

Features of pear pruning in summer

Summer pruning of an adult pear is a pinching of improperly growing young shoots – a shell. It is done with fingers and nails. Green non-lignified shoots lend themselves to armoring very easily. Such a kind of pear pruning in June-August can significantly reduce the amount of work in the fall, and also stimulates the tree to direct nutrients not to forcing extra branches, but to fruit ripening.

In addition to shelling, in the summer it is sometimes necessary to carry out forced sanitary pruning of pears. The need for it arises if the tree was damaged as a result of strong winds, 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 observed:

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, the seedling after planting must be cut at a height of no more than 1 m and not less than 0,6 m, otherwise the lower fruit tier will be too high or very low.
3. Removal of shoots “on the ring” is done at the base of the annular influx in the place where its growth begins. Too deep a cut will heal for a very long time, but if you leave a large stump, then an escape will begin to develop from it again.
4. Pruning “on the kidney” is done above the promising kidney. In this case, the direction of the cut should coincide with the direction of its growth, and the top of the cut should be on the same level with the top of the kidney.
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 growths are transferred to lateral shoots according to the principle of subordination: strong at the bottom, weak at the top.
8. Shoots-competitors growing parallel to the central conductor are to be removed.

Compliance with these simple rules will contribute to long-term active fruiting and keep pear trees healthy.

How to properly form a pear crown

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, and therefore the number of skeletal branches is made different. In weakly branching varieties, 7-8 are laid; for strongly branched varieties, 5-6 are enough.

How to cut a large pear

A fully formed pear tree has a height of 4-4,2 m. It is within these limits that it must be maintained. 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 cord or a stepladder. The transparency of the crown is of great importance, therefore, in mature trees, it is necessary to constantly remove thickening branches.

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

In most cases, a pear tree has a pronounced central conductor, that is, one trunk. The second trunk becomes a rival shoot that was not cut out in time. As a rule, the main trunk has a branched crown, while the competitor is straight and fruiting, as a rule, is absent on it. You need to carefully inspect both trunks. It may well turn out that the second is a spinning top. Such trunks definitely need to be cut down.

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

Is it possible to cut off the top of a pear

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

Pear pruning scheme

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

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

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

For example, a bowl-shaped tree allows you to significantly reduce the height of a tree, which is convenient when working with a crown, but greatly increases its size and fruit load on skeletal branches. Spindle-shaped is convenient in that it allows you to form a small-sized pyramidal tree with a relatively high yield.

Conclusion

Pruning pear in the 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 comes at a time when the trees have already entered the growing season. In this case, do not try to trim at any cost. If the deadlines are missed, it is better to reschedule it for the autumn period.