[GardenShed]

Hi there,

I planted a pear tree over a year ago which I think is a concorde and is perhaps semi drawf.  Unlike the apple and plum trees I bought it only seemed to have quite compact short branches at the very top of the trunk, rather than longish thin branches.  I have kept the base of it fairly weed free and mulched it, but it has stayed fairly compact - lots of leaves but not very long branches.  Please see pictures below.  I have never pruned it because I wasn't sure how to or when to.

I noticed last week that there are some longish green stems that have grown out of the end of the small branches and some going vertical from the top of the tree, but don't know if these are a good thing or not!  I've also noticed there are some fruit on it, with one or two pears larger than the rest.  What if anything can I do to encourage the branches to grow and to get a more normal looking and healthy tree.  Following on from other advice about apple trees in the 1st and 2nd years, I presume I should get rid of the fruit now so energy can be used to develop the tree.

Any help appreciated!

[surbie100]

The green shoots are the new growth. If you are planning to train the tree, you can summer prune these when the stems are a bit woody (July/August). If you want to just tidy it and get rid of branches growing in the wrong direction, I would leave the pruning till winter.

The RHS website has a lot of information on pruning young pear trees.

[GardenShed]

Thanks.  Im wondering if I should just leave it given branches are so short.  Or does pruning encourage growth?

[surbie100]

I'm afraid I don't know. I'm new to this too. I am leaving my 2 pear trees to grow a bit more before I prune them, but none of the new shoots they are chucking out go in the wrong direction for me. So far...