[SnooziSuzi]

Hi all,

I have held off on pruning my pear trees (3 years old, comice and conference) when I pruned my apples as I read somewhere that pruning them in winter could entice fireblight, however the RHS and other google searches on the matter don't mention this.

Am I OK to prune them in this cold weather before the sap starts to rise or would this open up potential problems for me?

Su

[Yorkie]

It's the right time of year to prune pears and apples.  It's the stone fruits which shouldn't be pruned at this time of year because of the risk of silverleaf.

[SnooziSuzi]

Thanks Yorkie,  that's exactly what I thought but once I'd read what I did I didn't want to chance it!

If I find the piece of text again that said it I'll make sure to make a note in it for myself!

[Trillium]

I got fireblight on one of my pear trees in early summer. Seems it blows in on the wind. So, you're okay to prune now and just keep watch if you're susceptible to it.

I made a spray of one part white vinegar to 5 parts water and sprayed the infected and surrounding areas, and cut off the damaged areas careful to dip my secateurs in vinegar after each cut so I wouldn't spread it. The problem cleared right up and didn't come back.

The next year I did a precaution spray, 1 part vinegar to about 8 parts water and it never came back.

[SnooziSuzi]

Thanks Trill,  I think I'll do that as a precautionary measure