Pear (European) care guide: when & how to prune, fertilize and spray

When: 2–8 weeks before the last spring frost.

• zones 3–5: about Mar 15 – Apr 26
• zones 6–7: about Feb 18 – Apr 1
• zones 8–10: about Dec 31 – Feb 11

Builds a strong framework and opens the canopy, while removing overwintering fire blight cankers.

1. Look for dark, sunken, cracked cankers on bark, and cut them out 12 in (30 cm) below the visible edge.
2. Dip pruners in 70% alcohol between cuts.
3. Remove water sprouts, suckers and crossing branches.
4. Pears grow very upright. Spread young branches to 45–60° with wooden spreaders or tie-downs instead of cutting.
5. Remove no more than 20–25% of the canopy.

Tools: Bypass pruners, Loppers, Pruning saw, Rubbing alcohol

When: 5–8 weeks after the last spring frost.

• zones 3–5: about Jun 14 – Jul 5
• zones 6–7: about May 20 – Jun 10
• zones 8–10: about Apr 1–22

Trees set far more fruit than they can size up. Thinning gives bigger, better-tasting fruit, prevents broken branches and stops the tree alternating between heavy and empty years.

1. Wait until after the natural 'June drop', when fruit is about marble to walnut size.
2. Twist or snip off fruit so the survivors are spaced 6 in (15 cm), one fruit per cluster apart along the branch.
3. Remove the smallest, damaged or misshapen fruit first.
4. It feels wasteful, but you'll harvest about the same weight of much better fruit.

When: 12–16 weeks after the last spring frost.

• zones 3–5: about Aug 2–30
• zones 6–7: about Jul 8 – Aug 5
• zones 8–10: about May 20 – Jun 17

Water sprouts (vertical shoots) shade the fruit and waste energy. Pruning them in summer causes less regrowth than pruning in winter.

1. Snap or cut off upright, whip-like shoots growing straight up from main branches.
2. Remove root suckers at the base.
3. Keep it light. Summer pruning should remove less than 10% of the leaves.

When: 2–6 weeks before the last spring frost.

• zones 3–5: about Mar 29 – Apr 26
• zones 6–7: about Mar 4 – Apr 1
• zones 8–10: about Jan 14 – Feb 11

Smothers overwintering pear psylla, mites and scale before they hatch. It's the lowest-toxicity insect control you can do all year.

1. Pick a calm, dry day between 40°F and 70°F (4–21°C) with no freeze forecast for 24 hours.
2. Mix the oil at the label's dormant rate.
3. Coat every branch, crotch and bark crevice until it drips.
4. Spray before buds open. Oil on tender green tissue can burn it.

What to use: 🌿 Horticultural / dormant oil (e.g. Bonide All Seasons Oil)

Caution: Don't use within 2 weeks of a sulfur spray. Don't spray blue spruce or other blue conifers; oil strips their color.

When: from 2 weeks before to 1 week after the last spring frost, then every 1 weeks (2 times a season).

• zones 3–5: about Apr 26 – May 17
• zones 6–7: about Apr 1–22
• zones 8–10: about Feb 11 – Mar 4

Fire blight bacteria enter through open blossoms in warm (above 65°F/18°C), wet weather.

1. When blossoms open and the weather is warm and humid, spray low-rate fixed copper or a Bacillus biological.
2. Repeat every 5–7 days through bloom if conditions persist.

What to use: 🌿 Copper fungicide (e.g. Bonide Captain Jack's Liquid Copper) · 🌿 Bacillus-based biofungicide (e.g. Serenade or Cease)

When: 2–6 weeks after the first fall frost.

• zones 3–5: about Oct 15 – Nov 12
• zones 6–7: about Nov 8 – Dec 6
• zones 8–10: about Dec 15 – Jan 12

Voles and rabbits girdle young fruit tree trunks under snow, and winter sun can split bark (sunscald).

1. Wrap the lower 18–24 in (45–60 cm) of young trunks with a plastic spiral guard or hardware cloth.
2. Pull mulch back from the trunk so voles have nowhere to hide.
3. Optionally paint the trunk with diluted white latex paint (50:50 with water) to prevent sunscald.