September Summer Pear Pruning

General Fruit Growing
#1

Hey all,

I still haven’t got around to summer pruning my pears and we’re now only 3 weeks from average first frost in central Kansas.

Would you recommend I skip summer pruning this year and prune dormant in late winter or go ahead with summer pruning now?

I think I have read there is danger of frost damage if wounds haven’t healed but I’m not sure.

Thanks for your sage advice.

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#2

I think at this point, the effect will be more similar to dormant pruning than summer pruning. The trees have had plenty of time to send nutrients back to the roots. You may as well wait until your normal dormant pruning time.

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#3

Good question—and the same one I have. I had a bunch of stuff going on this season and neglected my summer pruning. Nothing major: just shortening some overlong upper scaffolds and cutting back to a weak leader where I want to control tree height.

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