How to Grow a Seckel Pear Tree

Prepare the soil for planting first. Pear trees enjoy well draining soil and full sun, and can grow in a wide array of soil types. The ideal soil pH is 6.2 to 6.8. If necessary, adjust the soil pH by adding lime to raise the pH and sulfur to lower it. Turn over the soil with a shovel to loosen it, and remove rocks and weeds from the planting site.

Dig a hole twice the depth and width of the pear tree's root ball. Remove the Seckel pear from the container and place in the prepared hole so the graft union -- a horizontal line on the trunk -- sits two to three inches above the soil. Push soil into the hole, firming it around the roots, to complete planting. When the hole is two-thirds full, add water to settle the soil, then fill the hole the rest of the way. Again, water the tree.

Prune the tree at planting to a height of 33 to 36 inches above the ground, if it is taller than that. Do not prune back the top of a shorter tree. For all Seckel pear trees, remove branches growing 18 inches or closer to the ground and remove branches that make less than a 60 degree angle with the trunk, since they grow too close to the trunk.

Fertilize the tree about three weeks after planting using one-quarter lb. of 10-10-10. Spread the fertilizer in a circle 16 inches from the tree trunk, then water to disperse the nutrients. Thereafter, give your tree up to one lb. of 10-10-10 each year in the spring. Mature pear trees with 10 or more inches of growth a year need no fertilizer.

Water the tree when the soil becomes dry, adding liquid to saturate the soil.

Train your pear tree to a central leader shape by continuing to remove branches that make less than a 60-degree angle with the trunk. Prune off dead, diseased or broken branches. Cut back the central leader or main branch by one-third each year, and remove competing branches that grow vertically. Space out limbs to allow four to six nearly horizontal fruiting limbs, and do not clip these back. As the tree grows, create a second layer of fruiting branches eight inches above the first. As the tree matures, prune off the thickest branches when their diameter equals half that of the tree trunk. Prune the tree each year in early spring, before the pear resumes growth.

Harvest pears when they are mature but not fully ripe. Pears change from immature, dark green color to to mature with a green color, then ripe with a yellow hue. Twist the fruit off the tree when the green color lightens and before it turns yellow.