Should I prune back non blossoming branches on pear and plum

[ugley_matt]

I have a plum and pear tree that have blossom but also many upright branches with no blossom on so I assume are not going to fruit, should I prune those back to the blossom?

[devonuk]

No, not unless they are dead. Absolutely no reason to.

[nickdub]

I have a plum and pear tree that have blossom but also many upright branches with no blossom on so I assume are not going to fruit, should I prune those back to the blossom?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]91028[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]91029[/ATTACH]

Best bet would be to bend the upright branches over gently and tie them down, so they don't spring back - this process is called festooning, and will encourage the development of new flower spurs for next year.

[Garden_Chris]

I have a plum and pear tree that have blossom but also many upright branches with no blossom on so I assume are not going to fruit, should I prune those back to the blossom?

As others have said, no reason to whatsoever. These are just your fruits for the year and the leaves are yet to emerge (although it looks as if they are well on the way.) Sit back and enjoy the flower show!

[Kirk]

Have the bare ones been stripped of flower buds by birds the previous year? Bull finch appear the main culprits.

If so then RHS say that should be pruned back in March - suppose April is close enough espesially as it takes blossom to discover they are not going to blossom.

I have no idea why they should be pruned back, but that is what is given.