Hi Jones,
If this is the first year you are getting fruit on these trees, you should remove almost
all of them, to encourage better root growth and take the strain off these young trees.
I find it strange that you went from no fruit to suddenly having loads of fruit. My experience with
new trees is that they start off with just a few fruits their first production year.
Pruning is not the answer to your problems, whereas thinning should work. Your
branches should thicken up by next year to support the fruit. I also use a system of
wooden sticks to prop up heavy branches, and I will also tie outlying heavy laden
branches with twine to a point on a stronger branch or the main trunk. This technique is not
foolproof, as I loose some branches, especially if some critter uses it
as a trampoline.

Sherwin D.

Jones wrote:

Greetings,

Two years ago, I planted several varieties of pear and apple trees in a
small orchard on my property, in central Va.

This year, several of the pears and apples have grown to heights of 10
to 12' tall and put on a good show of blooms, which have subsequently
turned into all manner of pears and apples.

My problem is this : the fruit is weighing down the branches
substantially. I have read that I should prune off the fruit to one
every 4 to 6 inches. But, as I had not expected fruit this year anyway,
I am considering just removing all of the fruit (I am not certain that
some of the branches could hold even one FULL grown apple or pear.)

But, before I take any drastic measures, I thought I would post to this
group to see if any helpful advice might be available.

Thanks in advance for your time,

jones