brooklyn1 wrote:
"sherwin dubren" wrote:
brooklyn1 wrote:
Prune the broken branch back to the
crotch and allow a new leader to form (there shouldn't be just one leader
on a fruit tree anyway).
I disagree with your comment about having multiple leaders on fruit
trees. A single leader is the way to go. It will give the tree a
much better shape whenever it grows back.

Well you are just plain wrong. Fruit trees need to be shaped to make them
capable of bearing the weight of their crop, and should have as open a
structure as possible to allow them to receive maximum light and enable
easier harvesting, there should be no central leader. All trees require
pruning for structural soundness but especially crop trees. The OP's single
spindely leader fractured for one reason and one reason only, it was too
long and too thin making it incapable of bearing the weight of the pears.
If one wants a specimen tree with a "better shape" then there are plenty of
ornamental pear trees to choose from. You've obviously never visited a
fruit tree orchard.



As a matter of fact, I have over 20 fruit trees in my yard. I have
only lost one leader in my experience because I did not thin it
adequately. I do agree with you on pruning a fruit tree to bear
the weight of their crop, such as removing branches with a small
crotch angle, etc. However, letting a tree 'grow wild' without
a leader is not a good idea. If a leader is overburdened with
fruit, it should be thinned.

Just to keep this as short a reply as possible, I will refer you to
one of many references on pruning fruit trees:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/h...9.html#central

from the University of North Carolina Extension Service.


Sherwin