My first post so a quick intro. We moved to Somerset 3 years ago from Wales. The lure to the house we bought was a large garden (about 3/4 acre). The downside was that the house had been virtually uninhabited for 12 years and the garden very neglected. In addition, we are very much novice gardeners. We've spent the last 3 years weeding, clearing, and planting a number of shrubs and trees.

That's the intro. Now to my question. Two of the trees we planted are pear trees. I ordered them from the Good Housekeeping magazine and planted them in February (I think!). Both trees are doing well. Essentially they resemble beanpoles with numerous short shoots and leaves sprouting all the way up. I want them to be 'bush' (?) trees eventually but I'm not sure how or when to prune them. I've searched the net for advice but the only info I've found seems to be about pruning more mature trees.

Any advice gratefully received.

"jonperry" wrote in message
s.com...
My first post so a quick intro. We moved to Somerset 3 years ago from
Wales. The lure to the house we bought was a large garden (about 3/4
acre). The downside was that the house had been virtually uninhabited
for 12 years and the garden very neglected. In addition, we are very
much novice gardeners. We've spent the last 3 years weeding, clearing,
and planting a number of shrubs and trees.

That's the intro. Now to my question. Two of the trees we planted are
pear trees. I ordered them from the Good Housekeeping magazine and
planted them in February (I think!). Both trees are doing well.
Essentially they resemble beanpoles with numerous short shoots and
leaves sprouting all the way up. I want them to be 'bush' (?) trees
eventually but I'm not sure how or when to prune them. I've searched
the net for advice but the only info I've found seems to be about
pruning more mature trees.

Any advice gratefully received.
--
jonperry
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

*************************************************
It's quite simple.
It is now spring so you should be doing the spring pruning now.
You will notice that at this time of the year they have flowered (earlier
down South) and have little blobs where the flowers were. Ignore those and
don't damage them They are this years crop..
Now notice that the branches are throwing up longish vertical tender shoots
with leaves on..
To get a compact show of fruit you prune those new shoots down to two
leaves, (or 'nodes',) or buds. Snip just above the second node. Some people
like to enhance the size of new trees by leaving say one or two more leaves
than that, on the new shoot.
Those newly pruned shoots will should bearfruit next year.
Shaping the tree is called winter pruning. lop any badly shaped or cankered
branches, - within reason.You may want an upside down champagne glass shape
or a upside down roundish tumbler shape, or you may want to train the tree
along a wall espalier fashion (Fan shaped, more or less), or along a very
low horizontal beam so you can step over it.
Whatever shape you want the branches to be, you must try to keep the inside
of the cup shape rather open to allow light and air to have free access.
Awkward branches that go across in the middle should be dealt with. The bole
(trunk of the tree) will of course go straight up the middle whatever
happens.
If you have plum trees they are OK to have but are a wee bit tricky.
Pruning can let in disease if you are not careful, especially because they
flower early and they are frost prone, so try to wait a bit later..its a
good idea to paint the pruned wounds to keep out disease , rot , mould and
canker. There are proprietory pruning paints, though I have occasionally
used ordinary undercoat or gloss when stuck.
That's about it, you soon get used to it, - it's a simple task.
Good luck wih your new abode.
3/4 acreage is quite large, don't get too ambitious is my advice , just
tootle along until you settle down and know what is just right for you
without becoming a slave.
I mean you will want occasionally to slonk in a deckchair on the lawn and
read an edifying book or two!. Not forgetting a glass of lager in summer. No
fag smoking!. You want to live long enough to enjoy your new home; - and I
speak with bitter experience.
Doug.

***********************************

"Douglas" wrote in message
...

"jonperry" wrote in message
s.com...
My first post so a quick intro. We moved to Somerset 3 years ago from
Wales. The lure to the house we bought was a large garden (about 3/4
acre). The downside was that the house had been virtually uninhabited
for 12 years and the garden very neglected. In addition, we are very
much novice gardeners. We've spent the last 3 years weeding, clearing,
and planting a number of shrubs and trees.

That's the intro. Now to my question. Two of the trees we planted are
pear trees. I ordered them from the Good Housekeeping magazine and
planted them in February (I think!). Both trees are doing well.
Essentially they resemble beanpoles with numerous short shoots and
leaves sprouting all the way up. I want them to be 'bush' (?) trees
eventually but I'm not sure how or when to prune them. I've searched
the net for advice but the only info I've found seems to be about
pruning more mature trees.

Any advice gratefully received.
--
jonperry
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

*************************************************
It's quite simple.
It is now spring so you should be doing the spring pruning now.
You will notice that at this time of the year they have flowered (earlier
down South) and have little blobs where the flowers were. Ignore those
and
don't damage them They are this years crop..
Now notice that the branches are throwing up longish vertical tender
shoots
with leaves on..
To get a compact show of fruit you prune those new shoots down to two
leaves, (or 'nodes',) or buds. Snip just above the second node. Some
people
like to enhance the size of new trees by leaving say one or two more
leaves
than that, on the new shoot.
Those newly pruned shoots will should bearfruit next year.
Shaping the tree is called winter pruning. lop any badly shaped or
cankered
branches, - within reason.You may want an upside down champagne glass
shape
or a upside down roundish tumbler shape, or you may want to train the tree
along a wall espalier fashion (Fan shaped, more or less), or along a very
low horizontal beam so you can step over it.
Whatever shape you want the branches to be, you must try to keep the
inside
of the cup shape rather open to allow light and air to have free access.
Awkward branches that go across in the middle should be dealt with. The
bole
(trunk of the tree) will of course go straight up the middle whatever
happens.
If you have plum trees they are OK to have but are a wee bit tricky.
Pruning can let in disease if you are not careful, especially because they
flower early and they are frost prone, so try to wait a bit later..its a
good idea to paint the pruned wounds to keep out disease , rot , mould
and
canker. There are proprietory pruning paints, though I have occasionally
used ordinary undercoat or gloss when stuck.
That's about it, you soon get used to it, - it's a simple task.
Good luck wih your new abode.
3/4 acreage is quite large, don't get too ambitious is my advice , just
tootle along until you settle down and know what is just right for you
without becoming a slave.
I mean you will want occasionally to slonk in a deckchair on the lawn and
read an edifying book or two!. Not forgetting a glass of lager in summer.
No
fag smoking!. You want to live long enough to enjoy your new home; - and I
speak with bitter experience.
Doug.

***********************************

Dont you think these trees sound like the 'bolero' type? i.e the ones that
are dwarf and dont get side shoots of any consequence? And therefore dont
need any pruning? And cant be made 'bushy'?

" Essentially they resemble beanpoles with numerous short shoots and
leaves sprouting all the way up. "

--
Tumbleweed

Remove my socks for email address

Thanks for this Doug. As tumbleweed suggested - it is possible that my trees are some strange type which might not be amenable to pruning in the way you've suggested. Just for my piece of mind would you have a look at these pictures of the trees (not brilliant quality I'm afraid) and let me know if your advice still stands.

http://uk.f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/...=/1ea7&.src=ph

Cheers
Jon

Another update. I've found out that the trees are doyenne du comice and bon chretien. Apparently neither of these is self fertile. This might explain why I haven't seen any flowers. How do I get them to flower?

In article m,
jonperry writes

Another update. I've found out that the trees are doyenne du comice and
bon chretien. Apparently neither of these is self fertile. This might
explain why I haven't seen any flowers. How do I get them to flower?
--
No - it would only explain why any flowers you may have don't set fruit.

I think you need to be patient. Sometime this year they may start to
throw out side branches, and next year, with luck, you may get flowers.
William's Bon Chretien is flowering group 3, Doyenne du Comice is
flowering group 4, which means it flowers a bit later than the Williams
and so isn't a perfect pollinator, but there is enough overlap between
the two that you should be OK.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Another update. I've found out that the trees are doyenne du comice and
bon chretien. Apparently neither of these is self fertile. This might
explain why I haven't seen any flowers. How do I get them to flower?
--

No - it would only explain why any flowers you may have don't set fruit.
I have several books on pruning, they all say that no fruit should be
allowed to develope as it take strength away from the tree, so even if
you had any it is best to remove them. Best wait until winter then
prune to shape the tree as you wish. A weak branch should be pruned
harder than a strong one, if you wish them to develope equally, sounds
odd but it is so.

--
Please only reply to Newsgroup as emails
to this address are deleted on arrival.

"jonperry" wrote in message
s.com...
snip
That's the intro. Now to my question. Two of the trees we planted are
pear trees. I ordered them from the Good Housekeeping magazine and
planted them in February (I think!). Both trees are doing well.
Essentially they resemble beanpoles with numerous short shoots and
leaves sprouting all the way up. I want them to be 'bush' (?) trees
eventually but I'm not sure how or when to prune them. I've searched
the net for advice but the only info I've found seems to be about
pruning more mature trees.

Any advice gratefully received.

You don't say how old these trees are.

If they are one year old 'maidens' then they will just be a vertical thin
trunk with lots of side growth awaiting your choice of structure - bush,
espalier, cordon.

If they are 2 or 3 years old then someone will have made the initial
decision for you.

From the pictures they look like 'maidens'.

According to my book (a venerable Readers Digest Illustrated Guide to
Gardening) the planting and pruning should really be done in winter
(although I guess February is still just winter) :

"If you buy a one-year-old (maiden) tree, cut the stem back to 18-24 inches
high, just above a bud, after planting in autumn or winter. The buds or
small shoots just below the cut will grow out the following summer. There
may be only 3 or 4, perhaps more. Choose 3 or 4 to form the first branches.
They should be evenly spaced round the stem snip. Rub out with your thumb
any unwanted buds or shoots."

However, it is a bit late for that now :-)

The general principle is pretty straightforward though, and similar to
getting most plants to bush out.
With trees the timescale is years; with annuals this can take place over
weeks.

You take out the growing tip just above a bud or shoot, and this prompts
several side shoots to grow out.
Aim to have three or four, equally spaced around the main trunk.
These form the base of your 'cup' or 'goblet' shape - the clear space in the
middle allows light to get into the centre of the tree, and the top of all
the main branches.
Once these have grown out they are also cut back, and side shoots grow out
from these, forming a denser network of branches but maintaining the symetry
of the 'cup'.

You also remove all the side shoots below your chosen branches, to leave a
clean stem/trunk.
This gives the classsic bush shape - clean trunk then bushy head of
branches.

Looking at your pictures, tree 2 looks reasonably O.K. but should have been
shortened to encourage the formation of a bushy head. tree 1 looks a bit of
a mess with some long low down branches.

I assume the choice of 18-24" given in my book is allowing for growth in the
trunk which will raise the lowest branches to 4' or higher in the mature
tree.

With the usual disclaimers, I think that probably you should take the
'better late than never' approach and shorten the top and clean up the trunk
to give you the shape you should have had to start with.

This will set back your trees because they have invested quite a bit of
energy in growing the bits you didn't want, but it is probably better to do
the shaping now instead of waiting until winter and losing a whole season.

The book also says "Ideally a tree should not be allowed to bear fruit in
the first year after planting.." so I guess that with the late pruning and
everything you should ensure that there are no fruit this year.
You may however wish to let any blossom set into small fruitlets, just to
prove that you have a fertile combination of trees, before removing them.

Caveat emptor etc. - I should not take just my reading of a fairly old book
but cross-check with other advice.

However my feeling remains that you should be pruning for structure a.s.a.p.
to allow most of the growing season to be focussed on froming the new
branches.

HTH
Dave R

P.S. If you don't priune a pear then you can get some really interesting (!)
results. Our neighbour has an old pear tree next to the fence which has been
allowed to grow upwards. It is now nearly as tall as our house (24'-30' I
guess) with a main single stem, and only bears fruit on the last 10' or so.
No chance of picking fruit without the aid of an atomic pogo stick, and the
autum nights are punctuated by the soggy thump of over ripe pears dropping
onto our shed roof.

"jonperry" wrote in message
s.com...
jonperry wrote:
*Thanks for this Doug. As tumbleweed suggested - it is possible that
my trees are some strange type which might not be amenable to pruning
in the way you've suggested. Just for my piece of mind would you have
a look at these pictures of the trees (not brilliant quality I'm
afraid) and let me know if your advice still stands.
http://tinyurl.com/2xu9q Cheers
Jon *

**************************
Yup!- I've seen your pictures, Jon. They are the typical shape of the
Bolero type fruit trees, - that's for sure. Bolero type fruit trees , (No
branches, - just one single vertical bole (the trunk) and that trunk
supporting fruit all the way up it). No pruning needed If I remember
rightly.
I've had a few bolero type apple trees up here in the north west and a
couple in my daughters house in Kent which I planted. All failed after
about three years but don't panic!, - I was very busy then with other things
and mine probably failed because of neglect and the Kent ones probably
failed because my daughter went to Dubai and rented the house and the renter
didn't have a clue. The garden went to pot.
I have never had Boleros bearing pears, so cannot comment on them.
I have an ordinary Diyenne and a Bon Cretien. they are seven feet tall and
about 13 years old, and both do well though they have decided to have a rest
this year. Most fruit trees do that, you know. I am not conscious of their
fertilty habits, I have never looked it up, but they stand a yard and a half
apart so they may be doing a bit of courting when I am not looking!.
BTW, - most of my previous pruning diatribe mainly applies to plum trees, -
they in particular are at present sending up the shoots to which I referred
and which I have pruned back to two nodes.
If you fancy plums include also a greengage, I have one called Denistoun
Superb, - it is grafted on to a Pixy rootstock and it's eight years old
and has just tentatively started to fruit a wee bit. The gage fruit is right
out of this world for taste and texture. It is voluptuous in all aspects, is
about six feet tall, and has about twenty young fruits on its boughs at
present
Had another thought about your Boleros. Pehaps they are not old enough to
fruit yet. Do you know how long they've been in?.
They look about two or three years old.
All best!
Doug.
******************************

the trees are doyenne du comice and
bon chretien. Apparently neither of these is self fertile. This might
explain why I haven't seen any flowers. How do I get them to flower?.
jonperry
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk