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

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

Gardengal: You will have to be a little more specific about what you fail to understand about pruning. The "best way" to prune trees down to a manageable height is to prune them down to a manageable height. I can't be with you, nor can the others, to tell you each limb to remove or shorten, so you will have to figure out some of this for yourself. You might begin by visiting some websites that cover the fundamentals of pruning. As you describe your trees, it sounds like they were allowed to grow as pear trees tend to do, which is pretty much straight up. Spreading of branches and control pruning normally begins while the trees are much younger, and well before they reach 15-20 feet in height. It will not be impossible for you to restore your trees to a better shape for fruit production and overall care, but it will not be easy. Nursery catalogs often describe their trees as "dwarf" or "semi-dwarf" and they turn out to be anything but. You have to base your care decisions on what you actually see, not the catalog descriptions. Pear trees must be kept down to a height where you can thin and pick the fruit, and spray if that should be necessary. Normally, the maximum height to perform these tasks comfortably is about 12 feet, but 10 feet or even less can be better. As Herbert suggests, the best shape for a fruiting pear is low and spreading. The small size of your pears is due no doubt to the fact that you do not thin them, which would be impossible on such tall trees. To achieve decent size and quality, pears should be thinned to one per blossom cluster. I don't know what is responsible for the mottled condition of your pears, but you may have the beginnings of pear psylla, which results in blackening of both the leaves and fruit. Punch "pear psylla" into your Google search and read up about it. If it looks familiar, you should thoroughly spray your trees with dormant oil at least twice this coming winter season, a task that will be greatly facilitated if you bring down the height of the trees. You can begin your pruning right now, or at any time during the coming winter season. I am sure you can get further suggestions on pruning here, but you will have to tell us what you want to know with a little more precision. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Hi again. Please don't apologize for the small photo- I'll confess to not knowing how to post one at all, so you're way ahead of me. The larger one made things much clearer. About the fireblight issue: Yes, it can be very serious for pears. A few years ago a local nurseryman persuaded me to remove a Bartlett I'd planted and replace it with a Gold Spice on OHF5xx on the grounds that sooner or later the Barlett would get blight and the OHF rootstock and Gold Spice had shown themselves to be pretty resilient. So I gave away the Bartlett, and it died this year of fireblight. But do be prepared to spray for fireblight if it becomes an issue locally. Pruning is an essential control of fireblight (to remove blighted material) too. So far I've been lucky, even though this year there was quite a bit of it around. Youre mileage will vary- a quick google search will give you a wealth of information, such as this link: http://www.crophealth.com/fire_blight.htm Also, a regularly, properly pruned pear will have an open, airy structure that is less inclined to disease, and will make it easier to detect the first symptoms. So in time you'll need to prune it, and in time it will require only maintenance pruning. I'll take the liberty of copying one of Don's responses to me, when I asked him about summer pruning my youngish pear: >>* Posted by jellyman 6/7VA (My Page) on Tue, Sep 5, 06 at 11:59 Mark: I think it depends on the tree and its individual circumstances and characteristics. Summer pruning places stress on a tree. In my orchard, where all the trees are healthy and vigorous, and mulched at least once a year with a thick layer of stable manure, that stress is a positive factor since it promotes fruiting spur development and helps control unwanted vegetative growth. I don't think I would summer prune a weak, sick, or spindly tree, or a very young tree that is just establishing its scaffold. But when they reach 5-6 years of age and begin substantial fruit production, I think you can switch over entirely to summer pruning so long as trees remain healthy. One other thing I have done to the apple trees in recent years is to completely remove the central leaders and change them over to more of a vase shape. I think this has improved the color and quality of the apples, as well as making the trees easier to spray, thin, and pick. And I have cut off these major leader branches in late summer to try to discourage the bushy regrowth that will inevitibly occur at the pruning cut. Regrowth still occurs, but it is less vigorous than if done in the dormant season. When bushy regrowth occurs in the center of the trees, I cut it off immediately as I wander around the orchard. I usually carry a pruning shears in my back pocket when I am out there. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA My own instincts for your tree are to prune it this March in such a way as to encourage some of those lower branches to develop, but Don may suggest waiting another year, and he knows what he's talking about whereas I'm still struggling with a lot of it. I'd really like to hear other opinions and instruction on that. Hope this has helped. Good luck, M