Clare:

Pruning will do little to help spread a pear. Either leave it as is and the fruit load will eventually spread the tree some. Or train the branches to a spread form. Do this by tying some of the branches to the ground to spread the tree. If you are going to spread chose the branches that are still flexible enough to bend all the way down to the trunk, don't just bend the top over. Tie to a stake on the ground in such a way as to not gridle the branch. After one yr being spread the branch will stay in place. This might leave you with some big vertical growth you want to remove.

After you get the tree spread out like you want it, all you can do is let it grow like it wants. But do prune out excessivelly vigorous upright shoots that threaten to twist over your spread branches. Do this during the growing season as you see a problem developing.

The Fruitnut

Clare, thats a tough call. I have found pears difficult to get into a vase shape. It varies by variety, some work well but many just want to go up up up and a great deal of spreading is needed to get a vase. I didn't have the time to spread them properly so I now have some half pyramid half vase trees (double or triple leader) which are working OK. If I were starting over I would consider just doing pyramid shapes. If you are up to the time investment in spreading, completely remove the leader now and start working on a vase shape.

The one pruning I would do on your pear now is to head it back so its height is limited. Unless you want a big tree. It will grow a new leader anyway.

Scott

Clare,
your Clapps pear trees are big enough to bloom and have fruit. Are there other pears nearby? If you intend to let these trees grow to 15 ft tall, hold off pruning and spreading branches till after harvest. The new branch growth will go up. Spread branches in fall after this growth and the limbs will be wider. You see? Where there are two new branches starting to grow, remove one that is growing toward the center of the tree. I am training several different pears. I'll get some pictures up this weekend.

Ace of Spades,
We are not sure how tall we would like these trees to get.
Fifteen feet would be the absolute tallest..!
We only have the two Clapps Pear trees and that is it as far as soft fruit go.. We do have some ancient apple trees on our property so as far as pollinators go for fruit bearing trees we should be ok. I do realize that one should have at least two of any kind of pear..
The advice we have been given so far has been most helpful.
Oh and we are zone 4; Ottawa, Ontario.

clare,

you want at least 1 each of 2 different kind of pears to serve as pollenizers (pollen sources) for one another. Not a pair of one variety of pear.

The fact that you get apples on the apple trees shows that you have pollenators (pollen distributers).

Oops..again. We had been told that as long as we had two pears that would be sufficient for fruit production.. So that we have two pears of the same variey will there be no fruit? And if so why?

Same variety means they are parts of the same original tree seedling of many many years ago. Most pears cannot pollinate themselves so that is your problem.

I would consider grafting a few limbs to your pears with some other variety if you do not have room for another pear tree. Pears are easy to graft and several places sell pear scionwood.

Scott

Thanks for that bit o information!!
Interesting!! I will try that grafting of another type of pear tree onto our Clapps..
And now is the time to do it I imagine with allthe new growth happening.
Thanks again. We are getting lots of great advice on this tree.. Hope it keeps coming.

Ohh another thought. Hope not a dumb question..But, wouldn't the pollen from an apple tree suffice? And, we have some beauties~ apple trees??
Hmmm another thought.. At the restaurant I owned in Quebec, we had only one pear tree!! ANd, wow did it ever grow tall and produce lots!! of fruit.
So does this two tree thing pertain only to certain varieties of pear trees?

There may be other pear trees in your neighborhood that provide pollen to pollinate your pear. I know in my rural neighborhood there are a fair number of fruit trees of all varieties fairly nearby, so I bet I'd get fruit even with a single pear tree. The problem with that approach is that the farther away the pollinator tree is, the more likely that pollination won't be thorough - some years you may get fruit and others you won't.

I've heard that pears aren't very attractive to bees so its best to have your pollen source very close by.

Some pears are self-fertile, although most of those may be Asian pears.