multi-leader pruning on pear trees

17 years ago

I am using the above multi-leader system to prune my asian pear trees. In the article, it recommends to cut back the 3 leaders to 20-30 inches of last year's growth. Here are my questions.

1. What if one of the leaders only had 12 inches of growth last year? Do I prune all 3 leader to 12 inches?

2. Do you prune the swollen terminal to the next bud if the leader only grew 12 inches last year? Or do you just leave it so the short leader will continue to grow from the terminal this year?

Thanks.

Scott

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

jellyman
17 years ago
Scott:

Where are these "leaders" located on the tree? Are they all vertically oriented, near the center of the tree, and close to one another? If so, and with all due respect to the Texas A&M system, I would completely remove the two vigorous leaders and leave the least vigorous without any pruning.

Asian pears are like many other fruit trees. If you want to keep them within range so you can prune, thin, pick and spray, vertical growth is not what you want to encourage. You seem to have one leader that has less of a tendency to upward growth, and that is the one most likely to be fruitful and the one I would select. When this leader begins to put on lateral growth, that is where you will pick the most Asian pears.

If you prune back the two vigorous leaders now, in the late dormant season, you will find bushy growth generated at the point of the cut. That will also be true if you cut them off at the base, but you can remedy that by pruning again in late summer, removing all the new growth to discourage them.

For me, the biggest chore with Asian pears every spring is thinning. I have several varieties, and get about 99% pollination, which leads to many fruit clusters with 5-6 small fruits. I have to thin in at least three stages before I get the crop reduced to the point that the fruits can reach their full potential, without breaking branches.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
scott_home
Original Author
17 years ago
If you look at the diagram in the Texas A&M website, my trees are in the second winter stage. The leaders are kind of like the ones in the diagram. They are the leaders coming out from the previous year's cut. They are at a wide angle but have the typical pear vertical growth. I probably won't remove the two vigorous leaders now because my trees are only 4 feet high.

In general, do you always cut the leaders' terminals every year to promote lateral development even the leaders did not grow much?
Related Discussions
Clapps Pear trees~ pruning newly planted tree
Q
Comments (5)
Clare: Open center, hands down. Your newly-planted trees are already the same height as my pear trees that have been in the ground for 15 years -- and it's not because of the rootstock, it's pruning and training. I would not have purchased and planted trees of this size, since I prefer to begin training well before they achieve that height. Horizontal branches are fine; vigorous central growth is not. Tying the branches down is one technique, branch spreaders is another. To control growth, try pruning in late summer. European pears are often slow to begin bloom and fruiting, but I have found that training to a vase shape and pruning in summer reduces the time required. Nurseries often like to sell very tall trees at premium prices since many people believe taller is better. The opposite is the case. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
...See More
Pear tree Pruning
Q
Comments (4)
Sconticut: I am not certain what kind of help you are looking for here, since you seem to know what you want to do. You don't say how old the pear trees are, but if they are 15 feet tall, it must be a few years. Have you done any branch spreading? That's how I prepared my pear tree for open vase form, using the central leader as a stop for one end of the spreaders. Eventually, when the branches were in place, I cut off the leader completely. If you want to be able to reach the branches with the low-ladder, no-ladder method, the lateral branches should start at about 4-5 feet up the trunk. I leave 5 or 6 branches around the trees, and it took about 3 years before they were spread and in place so I could cut off the leader. You can prune a healthy pear tree just about any time of the year and it will pop back strongly. The danger is a lot of unwanted vertical growth from the lateral branches, which you can control to some extent by pruning in late midsummer, or immediately after picking the fruit. This will moderate the vigor of the tree and increase fruitfulness. Do not prune in the dormant season, or small vertical branches will emerge like grass the following spring. Don't let the trees continue to grow upward, which serves no useful purpose. If you are satisfied with the placement and height of the laterals you already have, you can prune out the central leader right now. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
...See More
Cleveland Pear - Pruning for a central leader - Pics
Q
Comments (4)
This tree, like most other trees, will be stronger and less likely to fail from snow or wind loads if it has a central leader. The lack of a single leader will result in forked leaders that are more prone to failure. Two common methods for ensuring a central leader are pruning and tying limbs down. A limb growing at a greater angle to the trunk is less likely to outgrow the leader. In other words, if the branch has a good crotch angle and doesn't curve sharply upwards, it is much less likely to have dominance over the leader. Gently tying down side branches to improved crotch angles and reduce the chances of multiple leaders is common practice. You should be able to find many references on the web with a few google searches. There are various methods and tools (i.e. branch spreaders) used for this. You could also check previous posts on the fruit forum for advise about how to accomplish this. Good crotch angles are usually between about 45 to 60 degrees. Different types of trees will tend to have different ranges of crotch angles. But the sharper the angle, the more likely the branch is to fail with loading. Correcting the branch structure is MUCH easier if you tackle the problem when the tree is young. Cleveland Pears are supposed to be somewhat better about breaking apart than the Bradford Pear, but proper pruning and possibly thinning would likely greatly benefit these trees as they grow. In addition to poor branch angles, one huge problem with Bradfords is that they grow so many limbs in such a small area that they cannot build up enough wood around the branch base to support the weight. Eventually, the tree pops itself apart. Though Clevelands may be better about this, I would still keep an eye out for this type of behavior and eliminate problems before they occur. I cannot tell much about your picture. It is too dark for me to really see what's going on, but you can tell if there are narrow crotch angles by checking to see if the angle between the branch and the trunk is less than 45 degrees. Angles less than 35 degrees are definitely not acceptable.
...See More
Pruning Pear Tree
Q
Comments (0)
Hi All, First of a number of pruning questions... I know that our trees aren't perfect, but after not pruning at all during dormant season last/this winter, we are having to make some major adjustments to tree structure now. I know we should have done this a couple of weeks ago, and I know the trees have not been trained perfectly so far, but I would value some input into a few decisions I haven't yet made.... To head or not to head the central leader on this tree? It is tall and spindly, so I am considering heading it above the highest scaffold branches. Current height is between 7 and 8 feet. You can see I am debating leaving a middle level of (currently small) scaffolds... The break between the top level and the bottom level of scaffolds is much more than 24", so I was considering attempting to grow a third level in the middle. What do you think? Cut it out or leave it in to see if it grows? And, bottom small scaffolds? I think I should cut all this off... As a guide, the small scaffold level near the white protectors is at knee height. Unless anyone thinks this might end up growing into a nice fourth set of scaffolds (yes, I know they are supposed to be the longest on the tree currently, but I am wondering if they might grow and thrive), I am planning on pruning it off. Lastly, you can see some leaves growing directly off of the trunk between the top scaffolds and next set of scaffolds. What do you all do with the leaves on the trunk? I have been pinching them off, but then stopped so I could ask. I assume if left these will turn into branches (or spurs maybe?) but I assume that it is undesirable to have growth directly on the tree. Thanks! Next posting coming in a minute :)
...See More
jellyman
17 years ago
Scott:

I did look at the Texas A&M website on the link you provided, but am still not convinced this is the best way to prune a pear tree. Yes, it will result in more horizontal branches in the center of the tree, but many of them will be growing inward, which is one of the things I try to avoid.

If your trees are only 4 feet tall, you are not really at decision time yet, and you can just about let them do anything. But once they begin to mature, I prune only in late summer. Otherwise, I induce leafy vertical growth that I do not want.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
geraldo
17 years ago
You want three vertical leaders so that when one of the leaders gets FB then you can cut it out and still have two thirds of the tree left. Having one leader is the last thing you want to do on a pear tree IMHO, just for good measure. And if your tree only grew 12 inches then it is possibly going to runt out on you. Might not be a bad thing if you want a very small tree. I would want a bigger tree so as to get some of it above the frost zone. I think I would cut all three leaders back to one third so as to stimulate growth.
I didn't know you could grow pears at Austin. I thought it was too Weird there. Seriously, I thought you might have too much Cotton Root Rot.
Yes you want to head the leader each dormant to induce lateral branching, but a vigorous growing pear tree is in danger of fire blight.
goodground
17 years ago
My Potomac was growing tall and skinny so I cut it back. Now I have 4 good angled branches without a central leader.
So far I can easily reach the entire tree. This will be the 3rd yr I have it so I'm hoping for flowers?

multi-leader pruning on pear trees

Comments (5)

jellyman

scott_home
Original Author

Related Discussions

jellyman

geraldo

goodground

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

multi-leader pruning on pear trees

Comments (5)

jellyman

scott_homeOriginal Author

Related Discussions

jellyman

geraldo

goodground

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

scott_home
Original Author