Pruning pear in autumn

Why you need to cut a pear in the fall

As a rule, pears over the summer give a lot of gains, which greatly thicken the crown. Especially if you made a rejuvenating pruning in the spring: numerous fattening shoots – tops (1) will begin to appear on the trunks and skeletal branches. They take away a lot of strength from the tree, but they are of no use – the harvest is not formed on them. So the first step is to remove them.

It is very easy to identify tops – they are always powerful, thick annual shoots that usually grow vertically upwards. They must be cut out ruthlessly, with the exception of a couple or three, from which you can later form the skeleton of the crown (2).

In addition, all dried branches are cut out in the fall – they cannot be left in the winter, they are very fragile and easily break under the weight of snow. And when falling, healthy shoots can also be damaged.

And, of course, you need to remove all damaged and obviously diseased branches.

Annual autumn pear pruning provides 4 benefits at once:

• a powerful skeleton is formed – the tree will be able to withstand the weight of fruits in summer and adhering snow in winter;
• nutrients will not be wasted on unnecessary shoots – everything will go to the formation of the crop, which means it will be higher;
• the crown will become evenly illuminated and well blown, it will be more difficult for pests and pathogens to settle in it – this is a guarantee of tree health;
• the pear will not be too high – the main trunk is shortened at a height of 2 – 3 m during formative pruning, which means that the tree will not obscure the site, it will become more convenient to harvest and easier to process from diseases and pests.

When to prune a pear tree in autumn

The best time is from mid-August to the end of September. At the end of summer – the beginning of autumn, the pear no longer grows, it is preparing for winter, but sap flow continues in its shoots, which means that wounds can quickly heal.

How to prune a pear tree in autumn

Tops need to be cut into a ring – this is such a thickening in the place where the branch is attached to the trunk. The thickening itself is left, the cut should fall at the very beginning of the thin part of the shoot. The thickening cannot be cut off – such wounds do not heal for a long time, and often it is through them that infection of the tree begins with infections. It is also impossible to leave protruding stumps – they will dry out, and gradually a hollow will form in their place.

Too long annual growths should be shortened by 1/3 (3). A cut of such branches is always made on the outer kidney, that is, it should be directed from the crown, and not inside it and not to the side. The shortened branch for the next year will begin to produce short lateral growths, on which a crop will form over time. If you leave long growths uncut, they will grow even longer and will not be of any use.

All cuts must be sealed. Large wounds, if the branch was sawn off – with oil paint on natural drying oil. Small sections from tops – with children’s plasticine: practice has shown that wounds heal faster under it than under garden pitch.

Dry and diseased branches must be burned – they are a breeding ground for infection. If you throw them over the fence or into the nearest ravine, as summer residents often like to do, in the spring all pathogens will again move into the garden.

Rules for caring for a pear after pruning in the fall

Top dressing. Regardless of pruning, immediately after harvesting the fruit, the tree must be fed with phosphorus and potassium: 1,5 cups of double superphosphate and 1 cup of potassium sulfate (potassium sulfate). These fertilizers will help the pear prepare for winter and increase winter hardiness.

In the spring of next year, humus will need to be added under the pear at the rate of 2-3 kg per 1 sq. m near the trunk circle – it is very responsive to organic matter.

Watering. In October, when the last leaves fall from the pear, it is necessary to do the so-called water-charging watering – it significantly increases the frost resistance of the tree. Under each adult tree, you need to pour 25 – 30 buckets of water. This watering must be done necessarily and in this volume, even if it rains!

What to do if the pear does not grow

A normal tree should produce annual growths of at least 40 cm. If over the summer the branches grow very short, it means that the tree is very thickened, it does not have enough nutrition for the active growth of long shoots. In this case, anti-aging pruning is required.

If a young seedling does not grow, try cutting off its top – literally 10 cm. As a rule, such pruning stimulates the growth of side shoots from which a crown can be formed.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about the autumn pruning of a pear with an agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Kudryavets R.P. Pruning garden plants. Self-instruction manual in diagrams and drawings // M .: Eksmo, 2021 – 192 p.
2. Emelyanov F.A., Kruglova A.P., Kulikov V.A., Sazhin N.S., Gryazev N.D., Kinkovskaya N.I., Berkut O.D., Molchanov A.I., Khramov P .BUT. Fruit and berry garden and vineyard // Saratov, Saratov book publishing house, 1955 – 472 p.
3. Lavrik P.I., Rybitsky N.A., Gavrilov I.S. Gardener’s desk book // L.: Lenizdat, 1972 – 568 p.