This Aristocrat Pear is about 8 years old, lives near San Francisco, with some fog, clay soil and a lot of wind. The tree was sheltered from the wind by the house, but has grown above the roof. The top branches on the windward side of the tree are bare. Should I prune them? Were the leaves burnt from the wind? Though it doesn't look like it in the picture, the rest of the tree looks good. I was told it could handle wind.
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Hi.
It should indeed be able to take the wind but are you near to the sea?
If you have strong winds off the sea then salt damage can defoliate very easily.
Anyway I reckon it would be a benifit to your tree to prune back the affected branches into the sheltered area.
Whatever the cause, pruning back will not harm your tree at all and can only be of benifit to it.
Jona
It should indeed be able to take the wind but are you near to the sea?
If you have strong winds off the sea then salt damage can defoliate very easily.
Anyway I reckon it would be a benifit to your tree to prune back the affected branches into the sheltered area.
Whatever the cause, pruning back will not harm your tree at all and can only be of benifit to it.
Jona