| A young flowering pear tree was planted 3 to 4 years ago in our new home. It stands about 15 feet tall. All of its new branches are pointing in the same direction (roughly south). What's going on? I should note that our soil is mostly clay. |
| You say "all of its new branches"--do you mean the large branches coming out of the trunk, or the new, small shoots? If it's the large branches: Young fruit trees should be pruned the first few years to evenly distribute the branches around the trunk--otherwise, as you see, the branches may develop unevenly, causing an unattractive appearance and perhaps, later on, problems with stability. If it's the small, new shoots, then I wonder if you have strong prevailing winds coming out of the north--that could have a minor effect. Other than that, I can't really think of a reason why this unusual situation would occur. Is there anything else unusual about the tree that you can describe, that might give us more clues? You might ask a local arborist to come have a look. |
