-
applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30543
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Espalier pear -- how to tame?
I let this Seckel pear get ahead of me and it grew this tremendous vertical shoot. I was going to top it early this spring but noticed a LOT of flower buds developing, so I waited to see what will happen, and this was the result -- it was covered up and down with blossoms... And now they seem to have all set fruits. The photo in the middle only shows a portion of it.
I do intend to prune it down to just below the top of the pickets to encourage a sideways 2nd tier branch along the top rail next late winter/early spring or possibly late this fall (I have had some success with November pruning apples....), but what should I do this season? Would it be better to thin the fruits for optimal size and development? Would it be better to force "heavy cropping" to slow this monster shoot down?
I do intend to prune it down to just below the top of the pickets to encourage a sideways 2nd tier branch along the top rail next late winter/early spring or possibly late this fall (I have had some success with November pruning apples....), but what should I do this season? Would it be better to thin the fruits for optimal size and development? Would it be better to force "heavy cropping" to slow this monster shoot down?
I will do this. 
One thing I would add here Star that applies to both pears and apples.
The basic size an apple and pear could grow to is laid down in the fruit in the early part of its growth. Cell division and cell numbers are laid down very early in the fruits life. From then on all that happens is that those cells swell with nutrients up to picking time.
So....if the weather is poor in May and June cell devision will be low, then no matter how much water is applied and no matter how good the rest of the summer may be, or how heavily you thin...the fruit will be smaller than you might have expected it to be.
The basic size an apple and pear could grow to is laid down in the fruit in the early part of its growth. Cell division and cell numbers are laid down very early in the fruits life. From then on all that happens is that those cells swell with nutrients up to picking time.
So....if the weather is poor in May and June cell devision will be low, then no matter how much water is applied and no matter how good the rest of the summer may be, or how heavily you thin...the fruit will be smaller than you might have expected it to be.