Q. When we moved into our Lakewood/Steilacoom area home 5 years ago, we accidentally cut down a pear tree. The tree is growing back and needs to be trimmed/shaped. When is the best time of year to do this? I do not know what type of pear tree it is. Thank you for your help. Susan Greer Lakewood, WA
A. I wonder if good ol’ George Washington used that as his defense with the cherry tree? The real question here is whether or not it would be worth to try and reclaim this tree at this point. Was this a fruiting pear or primarily an ornamental like a Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana) or was it a fruiting pear? If it was an ornamental pear or a standard (very large) fruiting pear then the new growth you are seeing would likely be the same as the growth you cut away. This is because the tree would likely be growing on its own roots. If it was any other fruiting pear (dwarf, semi-dwarf etc.) it was likely grafted onto a different rootstock and you would not have the same tree you started with. Upi would not get the fruit you expected. For example many fruiting pears are grafted onto the ornamental rootstock like the Callery Pear mentioned earlier. Some pears can even be grafted onto Quince rootstock. So you may not even get the same size tree as much of the dwarfing nature of rootstock comes from its relationship to the grafted tree and not the rootstocks innate dwarfness. If in fact this is a tree you wish to salvage you will need to choose a few new leader. The new growth may show a branch that seems to have reached up above the others. Three leaders are usually sufficient. This can be done in the summer. Then winter pruning can take care of the rest of the shaping. Pears are pruned to a modified leader system.