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

I think you are pretty safe if you prune early enough to miss the fall rains. In some ways we benefit from our rainless summers. Al

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