Pruning for noobies - help/advice please. Pictures Included

14 years ago

Hi all,

We've had our house for about two years now (Orange County, CA) and I'm still a novice in the yard. I have the mowing & trimming thing down ok (though haven't done it for a few weeks), but the trees are another story.

There is one in particular that I really like. A friend said it was a pear blossom (or something like that), and I'm afraid that when I prune it I'll mess things up pretty badly. If I don't prune it I'm afraid I'll lose some branches one day. I really like the shape and way it has grown (sprawling vs. more compact), and am looking to try to retain that look while at the same time preventing the limbs from getting too long and eventually breaking. So...I'm looking for suggestions.

I've uploaded a few pictures of the tree in case I can get direct recommendations, though it may be one of these things where I can't provide the right perspective. I know there are some online sites that give general recommendations, but I was hoping for something a bit more specific here. You'll note in the second picture I've circled the branches that really stick out far, and where I fear those may become an issue in the future.

Finally, is now a bad time to be pruning it? Some places I've read say it doesn't matter, while others say not to do it while it's blossoming.

I'm off to do some yard work and look forward to any suggestions - thanks for any thoughts and feedback!

Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
first you need an ID.. pic of bark ... individual leaves ... and a flower if it is time for such ....

then.. think long and hard about how nice that tree looked 15 to 30 years ago.. and then ask yourself, why you want to keep grandpaw in that yard ...

IMHO... its way past its prime.. and only going to become more and more problematic over the next 5 years ...

IF IT WERE ME.. i would think about all the potential for something new .... that wont clog the pool.. and which would bring more year around interest to your tiny yard ...

you asked.. lol ..

good luck whatever you decide ... ken
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
14 years ago
I like the sprawling shape also. It's something few landscapes have and it does fit in its spot.

Banker74, when pruning there are considerations about branches with a tight "V" like crotch angle compared to the trunk. In the midwest Bradford Pears get those in groups of 3 and split apart when full of leaves in our thunderstorms.

Another thing to look for are two branches which seriously rub together. Eventually funny things will happen with their bark either rubbing through, the branches no longer being able to sway in the wind, or just one out competing the other.

Really I like your tree. As you do I also I would leave it alone for the most part.

Like Ken said, put up a close up of the leaves and bark and someone on here will figure out exactly what kind of tree you have. Try to get a few leaves or buds in the picture so folks can see if they're arranged opposite or alternate and all that.
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Lower branches are definitely coming from rootstock or so close to the graft union they should be removed (red lines). I too generally recommend preventing branches lower than 24" from the ground as it interferes with mowers. Since it is winter time and the shadows are long I don't know how others can evaluate sun exposure during the growing season. I see it was taken at 9AM yesterday morning = southern exposure. I'd likely do nothing more THIS SEASON and let the remainder continue growing since removing those lower branches will come close to removing 1/3rd of the upper tree mass. I might remove clusters so a single branch remained that was either oriented in the direction I wanted or the thickest (vigorous) one. I do like the branch angles they appear to be taking. You could also head it back (OPTIONAL! yellow line) above the middle branching to try and stimulate branching to produce an open vase form if that is what you want. There appear to be several decent branches in that area that are likely oriented radially looking down upon the tree in a 120 or 90 degree from one another at a reasonable height. I am not a big fan of cutting good tissue but it is your tree and your choice of what you want. When in doubt leave it...it can be removed the following year, but once cut cannot be put back. kudos to someone on this forum today for providing me with the below link.... Here is a link that might be useful: Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Sat, Jan 3, 15 at 14:57
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bushhog936
14 years ago
Other than the fact that it 'appears' to have been lion-tailed before, your branch angles and spacings look great and it's one of the nicest looking pear trees I've seen. I don't know what the two red circles are for, but from what I can see there is no need to prune this tree right now -unless you hire a certified arborist to look it over and do the pruning for you.

Your tree has character, which is something young trees lack for many years. Don't cut down 'grandpaw' unless there
's good enough reason to do it.

If you want to shorten the long branches to lessen the load on the branch unions, just look up 'thinning cuts' in Google and you can find the proper way of doing this. There's no need for a chainsaw here, please.
bushhog936
14 years ago
I was away and realized that you'll have better luck looking up 'reduction cut' since 'thinning cut' may give some pages that show 'crown thinning' which is not what you need.

Pruning for noobies - help/advice please. Pictures Included

Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis

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