Re-shaping an established pear tree, to increase fruit production
Two years ago, this 10 year old tree was completely unmaintained, and had nothing but dense, upright growth, pear rust, and a few spots of fire blight.
After gradually treating the bacterial and fungal pathogens, thinning out the canopy, and grafting four new cultivars to this tree, I can finally start re-shaping it to encourage fruiting, and to make the fruit accessible without a ladder or picker.
Branches that run parallel to the soil produce more fruit, whereas branches that run perpendicular to the soil (leaders) produce more vegetative growth. Many fruiting trees can be ‘trained’ manually to produce more fruit by tying down branches.
Pictured above is a branch that formerly grew straight upwards, which I have bent over almost 90˚, tethered, and anchored with a u-shaped stake.
I’ll leave this setup in place for the duration of the growing season, so the tree can adjust to growing outwards rather than upwards.
Each shoot that I intend to train this way is tethered to radiate in a different direction, so as not to compete with other branches for light and heat
It may seem counter-intuitive to do so much pruning, thinning, and training in order to get more fruit, but in re-working a tree that hasn’t been cared for, the harvest gets worse before it gets better.
These adjustments to the shape create a scaffold that will result in a
healthy and productive tree. It may not give so much fruit this season,
but over it’s life, this tree will become much more productive.
Fairy rings occupy a prominent place in European folklore as the location of gateways into elfin kingdoms, or places where elves gather and dance. According to the folklore, a fairy ring appears when a fairy, pixie, or elf appears. It will disappear without trace in less than five days, but if an observer waits for the elf to return to the ring, he or she may be able to capture it. They are soooooo beautiful!
fairy rings are usually caused by decaying organic matter, generally a tree stump. many types of fungi have symbiotic relationships with tree roots and mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of such fungus. So if a huge old tree was cut down, you’ll often find fairy rings. they can last for years and years as the earth reabsorbs all the nutrients left behind by the beautiful tree.
sorry, didn’t mean to crush dreams – but i have a degree in horticulture and i was really excited when i first learned this.
maybe fairies and fungi are joining together to mourn the loss of the tree
xo
NO BUT FINDING OUT ABOUT WHY FAIRY RINGS EXIST IS ALSO REALLY COOL.
From a writer’s perspective, it’s even more interesting to find out why they exist on a horticultural level, because it opens up a whole realm of fictional possibilities. Science doesn’t have to invalidate mythology or fiction, no more than mythology or fiction invalidates science.
For example, doesn’t that just essentially make this a tree grave? And if folklore has taught us anything, it’s that “fairies” and other spirits usually occupy trees, or have them as their life force. And that’s to say nothing of the folklore of trees being spirits in and of themselves, or kitsunes that live in tree hollows, or dryads, etc., etc.. So, if it’s disrespectful or feels like a slight to step on human graves, wouldn’t that logic transfer to stepping inside the Fairy Circle, AKA, the tree’s grave? It’s essentially giving more fuel to the story, not detracting from it, in my humble opinion!
Science doesn’t have to invalidate mythology or fiction, no more than mythology or fiction invalidates science.
There's a Mirror on the Wall 