Hi Infiniteohms. Well, I thought I would try to take a shot at this in the hopes of learning something from the corrections I'd get later! But I had trouble seeing the trees well enough to figure out just what to do. But basically, thin, simplify, head back. Branches that point straight down from scaffolding branches can generally just be removed, and most that go up vertically can too, although it's worth noting that a few of the verticals can be kept to bear, especially when kept short. Branches pointing to the interior of the tree can come out. If it doesn't get sun the fruit won't thrive, so stuff in the shaded interior or underside of the tree can go, as can small branches that are struggling. Of course crossers and rubbers gotta be negotiated. Also the biennial fruiting habit is easy to deal with by heavily thinning fruit as early as possible. Remove all but one fruit from each cluster- and consider removing every other cluster completely. I've only been doing this a few years, but it's definitely worth your time and effort, and it's not hard. Much easier than dealing with a bunch of stunted fruit later. A rule of thumb is that you don't remove more than a third of the tree per year. Great- in only three years you can completely eliminate the problem! :-) And, you might consider whether rejuvenation is the route you want to take, when by planting new you could have your choice of cultivars, probably on better rootstock. Still, you do have history on your side: those three trees have proven themselves to be survivors, and then there's all that root system established and ready to go to work for you! Just thoughts, and I hope other opinions will be better informed than mine, so pay attention to those. I'll hang around and listen to the discussion and see what I can pick up. Thanks for sharing the photos. Good luck, M

Mirage: It would make it easier to advise you if you could tell us whether your pear trees are Asian or European, and, if possible, the varieties. Asian pears are usually more precocious to bloom and bear than Europeans. Asian pears can begin bearing in year 3 or 4 after planting from bareroot stock, but many European varieties can take 8-10 years before they really start to bear fruit, although they can bloom without fruit set. I cannot explain why one of your pear trees had a pear on it when you bought it, but it is obviously possible assuming it was a potted tree and at least 3 years old. The source of your trees, the way they came from the nursery, and your location are some facts that could provide useful clues to diagnose your problem, which might be completely normal and not a problem at all. Application of nitrogen fertilizers will not hasten the fruiting of pears or any other fruit tree. On the contrary, fertilizers can cause bursts of leafy growth that can actually delay fruiting. For most of us with European pears, growing them to the fruiting stage requires a great deal of patience. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

"I thought of getting a Laceleaf Maple, but the price for a small one astounded me ($89!)" I suspect that might've been one of the 'dissectum' Japanese maples, in which case it was likely a cultivar produced to grafting a branch to the root of another plant, and these can be more labor and time intensive to produce than some people realize, although it provides a plant with reliable characteristics (such as color and form) when grown under good conditions. From what I've seen quite a few Bradfords have branches break off, but survive. Take a close look at some big ones and you may see old damage. That may or may not bother you. You mentioned Colorado Spruce; if you want one that grows slowly & doesn't get nearly as large (or at least would take a very long time to get huge), I believe the 'Baby Blue Eyes' cultivar might be worth looking into. Not all Japanese maples grow at the same rate; if you've got a Bloodgood, I'm surprised it only grew from under a foot to 7' tall & 5' wide in 11 years! Wow. I don't know their growth rate, but I was thinking it's not usually that slow. Gotta wonder how your soil is, whether you mulch & how much sunlight & water it gets. There are a number of different kinds of upright Japanese maple, and some might eventually meet your needs. Are you familiar with Shantung Maple? It's supposed to be hardy. Might look quite nice. Would it work in your area? Richard.

Sometimes trees can have off and on years, especially if the tree is young or there's inadequate chill. If a tree used up most of its limited energy last year, it may not blossom this year. Also, not blossoming could be a sign that the root system has had a chance to get established (if you just planted it last year). For a young tree, more growth of branches can mean energy is diverted away from fruit production. So it's probably nothing to worry about.