Pear tree help

[Juniecat]

Hi,

We just bought a house at the end of this past October, and when we moved in, we were delighted to find that the pear tree in the back yard was covered with large, tasty pears.

However, it is clear that the tree was never trained in any way, because it branches outward very little and is so tall that most of the fruit is well out of reach. So not only did we lose the fruit, but then had the hassle of clearing it off the lawn when it eventually dropped off.

It seems very well established, but I don't know enough about fruit trees to offer a reliable guess about age. I'm wondering if there's anything that can be done at this point to reshape the tree to be more accessible, without either killing it or, hopefully, making it less productive. Is there any hope of safely reducing the height of the tree by half?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

[Newt]

Hi Juniecat,

Congratulations on your new home! Mature fruit trees can be pruned to make them more productive and easier to harvest, but it is usually done over time in stages so as not to shock the tree. Here's some sites with general info and info on how to do this.
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1210.html

Be sure to scroll down to 'Pruning Neglected Apple Trees' as well as reading the entire page here.
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgi.../hgic1351.html

This site has some great pics.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/treefruit...5/422-025.html

Newt