White blossoms in April, black-blue, edible berries in late summer and bright colors of the leaves in autumn make the pear a jewel for the home garden. Creative home gardeners appreciate the pruning tolerance of an Amelanchier. The individual pruning gives the ornamental and fruit trees completely different appearances. This tutorial will familiarize you with proper pruning for long-term maintenance as a shrub or small tree.

A thinning cut conceals bare vegetation and promotes an abundance of flowers

Table of Contents

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  1. Types of cuts and dates
  2. Instructions clearing cut
  3. Education cut as a tree
  4. Taper cut instructions
  5. frequently asked Questions

    6. Recommended types of cuts and dates

    The pruning-technical malleability of a service pear inspires imaginative home gardeners diverse forms of education. The flowering fruit tree thrives either as a shrub or tree in the garden and adapts flexibly to the available space. The following table summarizes tried-and-tested types of cuts with information on the best time:

    cut type goal/occasion best appointment
    Thinning out shrub Preservation of flowering and fruit yield late February to early March
    Education pruning tree Education to the small tree late February to early March
    taper cut rejuvenate senile service pear Late winter (January to February)

    Thin out the service pear bush every year

    In terms of the longevity of blossom wood, pear trees have the edge. In contrast to classic spring bloomers such as forsythia or weigela, even old branches on the service pear bear a sea of white starry blossoms. This reduces the maintenance of the cut to one annual clearing cut, so that the shrub thrives when it is flooded with light and has a dense dress of leaves deep into the centre. You determine the extent of the cut yourself. You can either completely remove individual ground shoots or simply trim down heavily branched tips. How to properly cut a pear bush:

    • The best time is in February on a mild, frost-free day
    • Cut off at least two of the oldest shoots at the base with a saw or two-hand pruning shears
    • In exchange, leave the two strongest, unbranched shoots on the ground
    • Shorten remaining, previous year's shoots from the rootstock up to the base
    • If necessary, cut back or slim down the remaining skeletal shoots by means of a derivation cut

    The figure below illustrates the pruning of the older serviceberry bush. In the first 6 to 10 years there is no need to thin out because a ground shoot remains floriferous during this period. A pear bears the most magnificent abundance of flowers on the two-, three- and four-year-old shoots. The flowers are still worth seeing on older skeleton shoots, until they gradually fade away and the first thinning cut makes sense.

    Thin out the two oldest ground shoots in February every year. If heavily branched shoot tips lean towards the ground, slimming down provides relief. Divert these scaffolding shoots to an outward-facing side shoot further back.

    Cleverly correct height growth - this is how the derivation cut succeeds

    Home gardeners are often tempted to control the height growth of a service pear by cutting back the shoots anywhere. As a result, strong budding takes place below the intersection points. Over the years, thick, massively branched broom heads develop on the shoot tips, which pull the entire branch to the ground. The formerly slender, tautly upright flowering bush is literally falling apart. Instead of struggling with the unnatural appearance, you should treat your pear with a skilful derivation cut correct in height and optics. This is how the plan works:

    • After thinning out, prune the remaining shoots with heavily branched heads
    • Choose a young, outward-facing side shoot as the cutting point
    • Cut at the fork of old and young wood

    A positive side effect of local rejuvenation and slimming is expert height control without leaving an unsightly gap in the bush. A cutting time in February also has the advantage that you swelling flower buds can recognize to at these places not to cut.

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    Responsible gardeners prune before March 1st

    Traditionally, early flowering shrubs are pruned after flowering if necessary. This does not apply to the far-reaching thinning cut of a service pear. When the furious spectacle of flowers draws to a close in May, the breeding season for our birds has long since begun. In the near-natural garden, prudent gardeners leave their scissors and saws aside so as not to disturb their feathered friends when starting a family. The Federal Nature Conservation Act emphasizes this requirement by limiting extensive pruning to the period from October 1st to February 28th.

    Pear grow into a small tree

    If you are patient, the pear will delight you in later years multi-stemmed small tree, without prior pruning training. With a leisurely growth rate of 20 to 25 centimeters per year, this process can take a long time. It is faster if you professionally train a young bush to a tree. With this cut you can:

    • The best time is in February every year
    • On the day of planting, select the strongest shoot as the future trunk and tie it to a support stake
    • Remove remaining shoots at the bottom as well as side branches along the central shoot
    • Guide the central shoot to the desired height on the support post and tie it regularly
    • Cut off competitive instincts at the base
    • Cut back side branches sprouting from the central shoot to just before the bark

    To initiate branching to the crown, please wait for the Central shoot tip at least 4 buds above the desired crown approach located. Below the cutting point, the leading branches sprout, which act as the basic framework for the crown. Please note that stem growth in height is almost completely stopped once the top buds are gone.

    digression

    Cut the center drive at the right time - you should pay attention to this

    The plant kingdom is governed by the law of top promotion, which gives the gardener security when pruning a service pear for training. A center shoot will continue to grow upwards unabated as long as it has its top bud. Because this is where the fastest sunlight goes, the service pear pumps most of its nutrients there. Buds planted lower down are at a disadvantage. Only when you cut off the tip of the central shoot does the branching to the crown begin, because the juice pressure is now distributed more evenly. Therefore, please consider carefully when you cut off the top stem bud. At least 4 buds, or 20 to 30 centimeters, should be between the top bud and the desired base of the crown when the scissors are used.

    Rejuvenate an aging shrub or tree

    Without a pruning, the service pear turns into a dense, bare network of overaged, lazy branches. Since the massively thickened shoots shade each other, leaves, flowers and fruits are scarce in the wood. A rigorous makeover cut will turn back time and pave the way for your pear tree to rebuild. How to do it right:

    • Clear out all dead wood beforehand
    • Cut off two to three quarters of the remaining skeleton shoots to branch
    • Shorten leftover ground shoots by a third or half by diversion

    As illustrated in the figure below, a successful regeneration is the combination of thinning and pruning by derivation. The subsequent budding offers an excellent basis for the new growth of your service pear.

    frequently asked Questions

    I read on a gardening forum that the berries of a service pear are slightly poisonous. Is that correct?

    The berries of a pear are definitely not poisonous. Rather, you can not only prepare the black-blue fruits to fruity jam or refreshing compote, but also snack fresh from the bush. Among experts, the berries of the Saskatoon variety (Amelanchier alnifolia) are even traded as a superfood due to their high content of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Only the seeds should not be chewed or swallowed, as they contain glycosides that can cause nausea in large amounts. Unchewed, the seeds pass through the stomach and intestines without causing any discomfort, similar to apple seeds.

    Does the service pear thrive as a shrub or tree?

    A real service pear (Amelanchier rotundifolia ssyn. Amelanchier ovalis) is a multi-stemmed shrub. This is the only native species within the service pear genus and is correspondingly robust and hardy. Over the years, the flowering and fruit tree reaches a height of 300 centimeters with slightly overhanging branches. The popular copper pear (Amelanchier lamarckii) stretches 600 centimeters towards the sky and is just as wide. Over time, the large shrub thrives as a small, multi-stemmed tree. Refined varieties, such as the Amelanchier Princess Diana pear, are available in tree nurseries as a shrub or fully grown standard. Naturally a multi-stemmed tree, the non-native rock pear Amelanchier arborea, native to North America, thrives and reaches a height of 6 to 8 meters.

    Is the pear self-fertile or are additional specimens required for the shrub to bear fruit?

    All species and varieties of the service pear thrive as self-fertile fruit trees. As a solitaire, the shrub will give you numerous black-blue berries in autumn. By planting a second variety in close proximity, the yield can be increased significantly.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    A bald, lazy service pear with broom-like shoot tips is the result of typical misunderstandings in pruning. The following table lists the three most common pruning errors, points out characteristic damage patterns and gives tips for prevention:

    cutting error damage picture prevention
    never cleared bare growth, few flowers and berries carry out an annual clearing cut
    too long shoots arbitrarily shortened Power heads branching out like brooms, bush falls apart always shorten by means of a derivation cut
    Center drive pruned too early in training pruning miserable high stem Prune the top bud on the middle shoot no earlier than 4 buds above the base of the crown

    tips

    If a first service pear adorns the garden, there is no need to purchase further young shrubs. Head cuttings cut in early summer root within a few weeks in a seed pot or partially shaded, protected propagation bed. Just in time for the best planting time in autumn, the offshoots have turned into vital service pears that you can plant in the intended location.

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Trees