Caring for a pear is not difficult. It is enough to follow simple recommendations and the tree will live in a permanent place for 60 or even 80 years.
Feeding and watering
In the first year after planting, the plant should be watered regularly, especially if the summer is dry. It is important not to overdo it here - the pear does not like excess moisture https://agro-market.net/catalog/cat/240/. Five liters of water once or twice a week - depending on weather conditions, is enough. It is better to water in the morning, pouring water under the bush. Spraying is not allowed - on a sunny day, drops of moisture on the leaves can damage them.
Fertilizers applied during planting will be enough for the plant for the first two years of life. It is impossible to add mineral fertilizers during this period - they can "burn" the roots.
Starting from the third year, the plant is fed:
- in the spring they add a bucket of compost, 300 g of superphosphate, 100 g of potash fertilizers;
- during the summer ammonium nitrate is added at the rate of 20 g per bush, a solution of chicken manure or mullein.
Shaping a bush
The pear tolerates a haircut well, for which designers appreciate it. It is only necessary to process the places of cuts with garden pitch. We must not forget that the plant is very capricious, you need to wear thick gardening gloves before the operation.
Pruning a bush is best done in the spring. First of all, frozen, broken, dried branches, as well as those growing up and inward, are removed. It must be remembered that flowers and fruits develop on stems from one to four years old. To form the correct bush, you need to leave:
- annual branches - 4-6;
- two-, three- and four-year-olds 3-4 each;
- five-year-olds - no more than 2-3;
Such a crown will provide optimal flowering and yield.
When the plant reaches the age of eight, rejuvenating pruning should be carried out periodically. The bush is thinned out, leaving 10-12 of the strongest shoots. Branches older than five years are gradually cut out, replacing them every year with three or four young shoots from the shoots above the graft. The remaining offspring are removed so that the tree does not grow in breadth.
Loosening and mulching
The earth around the shrub is periodically carefully loosened to a depth of 10 cm. Weeds are removed along the way.
Mulching plays an important role in pear cultivation:
- Shortens watering time;
- In winter, protects the roots from frost;
- Protects the soil from weathering, trampling and compaction;
- Inhibits the growth of weeds;
- Stimulates the development of earthworms, thereby improving soil structure.
It is enough to lay a layer of mulch 3-4 cm thick within a radius of up to a meter around the bush. In addition to chopped bark and sawdust, pine and spruce needles and hay are well suited for this. You can use pieces of turf.
