Bradford Pear Tree Pruning

Bradford pear trees are beautiful trees used for landscaping front yards. These trees are more famous for its decorative value than fruit bearing. These trees bear round-shaped green color leaves, which have a smooth edge. The height of these trees varies between thirty to fifty feet and as it grows, it becomes ovular in shape. During fall, these trees just look white and are absolutely without any leaves. Fruits can be visible in late spring or early summer. Fruits are smaller in size and brown in color, and not easily noticeable. Spring is the best time for flowering; the flowers are white in color, having multiple petals. Bradford pear tree pruning is required for proper growth of the tree.

When to Prune Bradford Pear Trees

Best time to prune these trees is early spring, when the tree remains still dormant. You can start pruning the trees, just after the blooming season. Trimming can be done by seeing the shape of the tree, before the foliage cover all its branches. As these trees are placed on the roadside, they need to be shaped properly to give a good look. Annual pruning helps these trees to grow more vigorously and also to get the blooms in right time. Prune the young trees, before they become too tall. These trees usually get blight infections in their branches, so prune them at the correct time. Provide your tree with the proper growth environment, to get a healthy fruit production.

Instructions for Pruning

First clean the surroundings where you have planted it. Get rid of dead branches that have become black in color and also the diseased ones. Deadwood draws the nutrients from the tree and encourage the growth of pests and finally, stunt the growth of the tree. Apply fertilizers, before the arrival of flower buds to prevent from diseases.

Pruning Older Trees
Start cutting the secondary branches from the base of the tree, because as they grow upward they lose strength. If you do not cut them, they will give improper shape to your tree. Identify the core trunk of the tree; that will help you to decide from where you should start trimming the secondary branches. Cut all the branches which are getting overlapped with one another and remove the parallel growing limbs. Cut down all the weak and dead branches. An older tree seems very crowded with branches, trim them in such a way, so that the shape of the plant is maintained. Ensure that your plant gets proper sunlight and good air circulation in order to survive. Mulching will also encourage better growth.

Pruning Younger Trees
Start trimming from the base of the young tree, and keep a distance of twelve inches in between two branches while pruning. You can leave the first branch as it is, and cut the second branch, followed by the fourth one. In this way, the distance between each branch is maintained. Be very careful, while cutting the big branches. If one deep cut is made to the limb, it will droop down unless the pruning gets completed. Stubs can be removed by giving a cut outside the branch collar. Trim away all the vertical limbs from the center of the tree, as they may obstruct air circulation to the bottom of the tree. Do not cut horizontally growing branches, if they do not become too big.

These trees require a good shape for growing. After you've finished pruning them, see that all the branches are cut straight, so that these branches grow in a uniform manner and retain the appropriate shape of the tree. Bradford pears have a vigorous growth habit, so start pruning them at an early age.