Pear Espalier help needed

[SQWIB]

I just put in a Stark Honeysweet dwarf pair and knee highed it

Here's what I need help with, the following is from Stark Bros found herehttps://www.starkbros.com/growing-guide/article/espalier-fruit-trees

11) During the first season, let the buds grow into new shoots. Pick the three sturdiest ones and prune off the rest. When the shoots are 3-4 inches long, gently bend and tie one to the lowest right-side horizontal wire and another shoot to the left. Your tree should now look like a lower-case “t”.

12) Don’t let the center trunk grow more than 6” over the first tier. Snip it back as the horizontal branches grow to keep it in check.

13) When the first-tier branches have grown three-quarters of the way to the end of their support wire, allow the central trunk to grow to the second tier and start the process again.
Repeat once more until you have three tiers, each about 7 feet long from end to end.


Step 11 says to select the three strongest buds. One is attached to the left and one to the right.
What about the third?
Then it says don't let the trunk grow more than 6" over the first tier.
This is where I am confused, are they talking about the main trunk or the new, third branch.
Does the new third branch become the trunk? So I would have three branches and a trunk?

Here is the entire instructions for their espalier recommendations.
I'm OK till steps 11-13

1) Choose your location (see tips above).

2) Measure 4 feet up from the soil (final tree height) and center the spot on the wall or support. Chalk a vertical line (the “trunk”) from your centered spot to the ground.

3) Along your vertical “trunk line,” mark a spot 16 inches from the ground (the first branch tier), and repeat twice. You will now have a 4-foot vertical line with three spots marked on it at 16-inch intervals.

4)Now mark out the tree width. Begin at the first 16-inch tier mark on the “trunk” and measure 3-1/2 feet on both the right and left of the trunk. Repeat for the second and third tiers, then draw horizontal lines from point to point. What you should see is a single 4-foot vertical line intersected by three horizontal lines, 16 inches apart and 7 feet wide.

5)Install the eyebolts or wall mounts to the wall/support. A bolt should be placed on the “trunk line” at ground level and where the first, second and third tiers cross. Also attach bolts to each end of each of the 3 horizontal lines.

6)Thread wire through the eyebolts following the pattern drawn on the wall, both vertical and horizontal. Twist the wire at the ends to secure it, and snip.

7) Now it’s time to plant your tree. In spring or fall, dig a hole in front of the vertical wire that is 12-14 inches wide and equally deep. Mix half of the shoveled-out soil with compost. Position the tree whip in the hole so that the crown sits at soil level. Remember to position it 4-5 inches from the wall with a bud just above the first-tier guide wire.

8.) Backfill the hole with the soil/compost mixture and water in well.

9) Attach the trunk to the vertical wire, somewhere below the first-tier horizontal wire, with a stretchy plant tie to avoid bark damage.

10) Take a deep breath and top the center trunk by making a cut about 1-2 inches above the first-tier wire, right above a bud. Make sure there are at least three buds below this one. This action will force the tree to send out branches at or near the first-tier height.

11) During the first season, let the buds grow into new shoots. Pick the three sturdiest ones and prune off the rest. When the shoots are 3-4 inches long, gently bend and tie one to the lowest right-side horizontal wire and another shoot to the left. Your tree should now look like a lower-case “t”.

12) Don’t let the center trunk grow more than 6” over the first tier. Snip it back as the horizontal branches grow to keep it in check.

13) When the first-tier branches have grown three-quarters of the way to the end of their support wire, allow the central trunk to grow to the second tier and start the process again.
Repeat once more until you have three tiers, each about 7 feet long from end to end.

 

[MaryMary]

Step 11 says to select the three strongest buds. One is attached to the left and one to the right.
What about the third?

I think you would train the third to be the main trunk...? The last part of Step 11 says that it should look like a lowercase "t."

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe you want to wind up with a pear tree that looks a bit like this wisteria?

If that is what you want, you need @Sean Regan!!

 

[DirtMechanic]

So the pear has this natural tendency to shoot straight up, and when fruiting the limbs bow out and down and new shoots will grow up from those main first limbs at 90 degrees. Without saying it plainly, the instructions are detailing what amounts to bending the first shoots into the horizontal aspect while truncating the natural tendency to shoot up. The main central thrust of the plant meristem is vertical, so you challenge that behavior by trimming and keeping the overal habit symmetrical in the process. If you do not, the main trunk will grow large in diameter as well so its an effort toward a balanced look as well as a balanced horizontal spread. Cytokinin will help lateral shoot development and speed your project by extending senescence. This is a plant hormone found in the fertilome fruit set spray product as well as others I imagine. Try not to use an auxin, such as NAA, IBA, IAA such as might be found in products like Superthrive. They promote roots which is good but also work against lateral development while promoting vertical growth in the main stem.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Here are 2 natural examples of the pear character or habit, as I removed a pear from the yard today. It cannot be to thin and viney, nor short shooted. Some other fruits such as peach would also work. They all have the weakness of a soft skinned non local plant though, which I doubt you have considered, and that is disease. Before you start, have at least some plans for disease control, mainly in the fungal arena.