There’s a lot of reasons our Royal Riviera® Pears are so big, sweet and juicy. Proper tree pruning by skilled arborists is just one of the essential tasks that help maintain the health of our orchards. During the fruit trees’ dormant state from October through the end of winter in March, each tree is pruned with particular cut and trim techniques.
Many of our arborists have between 15 and 20 years’ experience tree trimming. They can stand in front of any given tree, take a quick look and immediately know where to cut and trim to properly shape the tree. The goal is to spread out the limbs to allow sunlight to reach the fruit. That typically involves removing about one third of the wood growth from the prior year. They also aim to spread the limbs far enough apart to give symmetry to the tree and allow the fruit to hang freely. The Royal Riviera® Pears have a very delicate skin. The right prune ensures that the fruit won’t rub against any branches that could cause gouges and scratches. Any wispy branches or tips that could get windblown against the fruit are also cut away. This type of prune provides the fruit with plenty of room to grow. It’s the attention to details like this that make our famous pears such perfect gifts.
Given their exceptional experience and quality tools, arborists can trim up to 18 trees per hour. Harry & David has thousands of acres of orchards that keep our tree trimming crew very busy this time of year.
