Do I have that name right? It doesn't bear fruit, it's an ornamental tree that puts out lovely white flowers in the spring and loses all its leaves in the winter. Maybe it's not Bartlett....but the "pear" part is definitely in its name somewhere! We have two, one in the front of the house and one out back by the deck. I guess they were planted when the subdivision was originally created. Many of my neighbors have them. I really like the way they look, but the problem with the two we have is that they're HUGE. The neighborhood is also full of crepe myrtle too, of which we also have one, but the pear tree is planted in front of it, and completely obscures it. The one in back isn't so bad, but the front one overshadows not just the crepe myrtle but just visually looks too big for the house now. What can I do with it? I don't want to cut it down. If I cut its limbs off, the very heavy parts that grow from the main trunk, will that reduce its size and heft? And I'm saying that like *I* am going to get out there with a chainsaw and ladder and do the work--NOT! But that's my next question. I'm guessing that the guy who comes and cuts my lawn isn't the best person to get to do the work right? I assume it actually needs some knowledge to know where to cut, when to cut, how much to cut? I'll have him cut the back tree too, but that one doesn't bother me as much as the front. And it does provide some needed shade to the back deck which is nice. It will have to get cut back though once we enclose the deck. But for right now, it just needs a bit of a trim I think. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Ronni, it sounds as if you have a Callery Pear--blooms profusely and lovely in the spring, no fruit or very tiny inedible pears, and gets 30 to 40' feet tall. If you have it limbed up or pruned, by all means get a licensed arborist. Some dude with a chain saw can absolutely ruin a tree or even kill it. An arborist can tell if removing some of the main limbs is feasible, and a good or bad idea. If you have a working fireplace, pear wood, after seasoning, is fragrant and lovely to burn. This is the time to call in the dude with the chain saw to cut it up into right size logs!
Bradford pear! That's it. Doh! Man, getting old sucks! Thanks for the info, toni. So, my next question would be when? Does it get cut back in the fall or winter? I'm guessing now would not be good, but it should be before next spring, yes?
I always prune my pear trees from the beginning of September through to the end of October. However if you have a climate without any hard frosts you could prune back right trough to December. During these months you don't have to worry about cutting off any forming fruit buds and you should get much better foliage and fruit the following year.
