Pear tree. Dying?

Hi all,

In the centre of our garden is a very well established Pear Tree. When we moved into this house in August last year the Tree had leaves and some pears (not many). It appears to have a green type moss on some of the branches and a lot of the smaller branches are brittle, dark brown in the middle when broken and break easily.
Like I said last year it had some fruit and leaves but I'm not sure it will last another fruiting season? The tree must be 40+ years old. Soil is clay. I have no idea of the pruning history or how it has been looked after. Ill get a phot of it tomorrow and post it here.

Any help much appreciated!

 

Hi Lee, it might be worth renovating? Have a look at the trunk, make sure that there aren't any toadstools or major damage to the bark. Now is a good time to cut out all the old, dead wood, and crossing branches. That's a start, then when we see a photo, we can advise on any major pruning that can be done to stimulate it to put on new growth.

 

Hi noisette47,

I'll do that. I will make sure that I get a photo of it tomorrow and post it here. Thank you so much for the advice.

Lee

 

Hi Lee.

Thank you for posting this thread. There are often good and bad outcomes, when sorting out tree problems. More so, with fruit trees, as these are usually grafted bits etc, grafted onto Malling root stocks.
There exists a somewhat confusing issue here. eg: do grafted specimens fare better than rooted specimens. This question is often asked in relation to roses.

Enough said. So you have a pear tree of perhaps some 50 yrs of age. Fifty years for a tree. We may well start to think of Giant Sequiors giant redwoods being a thousand yrs old. So your tre some 40 yrs old. A mere kid. However speaking as a plant pathologist. Trees and plants so often present problems.

If you are really that interested in your tree. I suggest you get a tree expert in, to take samples.

This will involve taking bore smaples. Here cores are drilled into the trunk and the core examined. This is like cutting down a tree and exammining the core.

Being totally frank. You have to come to some compromise. Do I get rid of the tree, or, do I try this and that.

Bark samples can be taken. Drasically the trunk can be reduced. This goes on until zilch is left. Truthfully my friend. If I were you. I'd get rid of the tree. So sorry.

 

Hi thanks for the message., there is a local expert near me, but if I'm able to save it on my own first by relatively simple means then I'll give it a go. If I start to think its really not worth it I'll cut it back.

Thanks again,

Lee

 

No photo?? Good luck with it, anyway

 

Photos are coming. Just working out how to load them via my mobile phone!

 

Lots of foliage around the base? Some buds are green inside. Full picture of the Pear tree. A lot of the end branches are brown
Some green inside, some brown. Strange moss coating branches.

 

I've posted the pictures above. Its really weird as some branches are still alive and others are clearly dead. There are new buds coming out but then others are brown. So I think its dying or at least on the way out but I wonder if I can indeed save it. perhaps trim off all the dead branches, clear the bottom of the tree and add a layer of mulch around the base to provide nutrients to help with new growth?

 

Lee. Thanks for the photos. Please bare with me. Branches covered in lichen. Now then. Lichen often forms on live, thriving stems, branches etc. It also in a way, substitutes for fungi, and develops on dying hosts.

Your photos tend to show. So much of the upper structure to be covered in lichen. This to me, suggests such areas are dead or near to death. Now please. Can we try out a screen test. Perhaps you might wish to print your pics. Once done. Now with a pen or whatever. Mark all the areas that are affected. Study the result. Imagine now. If you got out there with a chainsaw and got rid of the problem bits. Be honest. What does your tree now look like. Now please trace back those fresh shoots. This may mean perhaps scraping away some soil. Find if you can, the grafting point. This will be marked by a swelled part of the trunk. Now if these new shoots come from below that graft, then they are suckers, and are from the original plant and need to be destroyed.
If however they come from above the graft, then they are children of the graft. Now. however you have to decide. If I cut the tree down and concentrate on these new growths. Time and tide. Is it really worth all this messing around. No mention has been made asto the flavour of the fruit etc. Honestly friend. Get rid of the tree.