Hey Y'all,

I planted 4 pear trees 2 years ago. I got them for $5 each and they were poorly maintained.

The trees have really taken off, but ones limbs constantly weep over.

I have pruned them back thinking that the wood needs to strengthen, but by the end of every growing season, they are bending over again.

What can I do to keep this from happening?

Without getting too deep into pruning it looks like that tree is putting too much growth into side limbs. Prune them back at least half, just after a spur branch that is growing out the way you want the limb to go. This should also direct more growth to the leader center top. There is very detailed pruning info on U tube on all species of fruit tree if wanted.

Yep, prune those branches way back to about a third.

I've done that previously and the problem keeps occurring.

You can prune during the summer too as the new shoots are elongating. When the new shoot gets out about 15-18 inches nip the tip. I wouldn't identify it as a "problem"...just what needs to be done to shape the tree so that it can be productive.

UGA has a good bulletin describing how to prune pears. Basically you try to train to a central leader, cut back to a few solid main scaffolds while using spreaders or weights to encourage wide strong crotch angles as pear is prone to narrow weak angles.
You also need to use care in fertilizer as you don't want to promote excessive growth, especially in our firelight prone climate.

Prune those limbs annually in winter. Those limbs that are drooping over should have been cut off a couple months ago. As stated above...favor the main stem. The tree will grow higher faster and strengthen.

You should probably take half to two thirds off those branches. It doesn't appear as though you have a dominant central leader, what happens when that is the case there is no hormonal feed back response and the other branches will grow more then they should. Think of it like king of the mountain, when the king isn't at the top everyone is competing to be the top dog. I don't think that's all your problem but it appears to be contributing to the issue from what I can tell from the picture

I do have a "strong/dominant" central leader, but it keeps learning over along with all of the others.

Tie that main up with a stake/pole if needed. Cut the others off.

Ok I couldn't see that from the picture. Are you sure that what is growing isn't root stock? Most of the time the problem trees I see with people are ones that the fruit wood died and the root stock to over.

yes with what's above

Young bucks generally prune my smaller trees...and do a terrible job.

You get what you pay for , mine are all bearing at that age not a lot but are also taller and more narrow .Also all in full bloom last week

My apple tree we bought 3 years ago but its not flowering yet but its about 9 feet tall and and about 1 inch thick

Not root stock. I can see the graft all the way at the base of the tree. All my other tree's are very strong.

One apple tree won't give you apples...

Yup,,most apple trees need to cross pollinate with a different variety of apple.When I planted my Cortland apples,,I mixed in 10 percent Macintosh trees for pollination.