Pear
Pyrus communis
Difficulty: Medium âïž Full sun â Partial shade Small garden Medium garden Large garden
Info
Pears are rewarding trees with spectacular spring blossom, and they thrive in the UK, especially in the south and east. Trees on a quince rootstock are compact enough for small gardens when trained as cordons, espaliers or fans against a wall.
Most pears need a pollination partner, and pears flower early, so shelter from frost is important. Dessert pears need to be picked slightly unripe and ripened indoors for the best flavour.
Types and varieties
Pears are grouped by when they ripen. Most are picked hard and ripened indoors.
Early pears
Pick late August to September · Eat within days
Juicy but short-lived. They go soft from the inside very quickly, so pick slightly under-ripe and eat within a week.
BethWilliamsâ Bon ChrĂ©tienJargonelle
Mid-season pears
Pick late September to early October · Keep 2â4 weeks
The reliable all-rounders, best ripened indoors for a week after picking.
ConferenceConcordeLouise Bonne of Jersey
Late pears
Pick October · Store until December or later
Slow to ripen but the richest in flavour. Store hard in a cool place and bring into the warm to ripen.
Doyenné du ComiceWinter NelisCatillac (cooker)
How to plant
Plant bare-root trees from November to March in a warm, sheltered position with fertile, moisture-retentive, well-drained soil. Pears hate waterlogging and extreme dryness. Check the pollination group of your variety, and plant partners flowering at the same time, or use compatible varieties from neighbours.
Stake firmly, plant with the graft union 5 cm above ground, and mulch with compost. Quince A rootstock gives a semi-dwarf tree; Quince C is more dwarfing. Cordons and espaliers need a post-and-wire frame.
Top tips
- Choose compatible pollination partners.
- Plant in a sheltered spot.
- Use dwarfing rootstock for small gardens.
- Mulch each spring.
How to grow
Prune in winter (November to February) to an open framework, and in summer for trained forms. Cordons and espaliers are summer-pruned in August by cutting side shoots to 3 leaves beyond the basal cluster. Thin fruitlets in June to one or two per cluster.
Water young trees and mulch every spring. Pear scab, pear midge and fireblight are the main problems. Remove diseased branches and burn them. Clear fallen leaves in autumn. Protect blossom from frost with fleece.
Top tips
- Thin fruitlets in June.
- Cut out cankered branches.
- Fleece blossom on cold nights.
- Clear fallen leaves.
Watch out for
Pear scabPear midgeFireblightCodling mothWasps and birds
How to harvest
Pick pears while they are still hard. Early varieties are ready in August to September, while late types are picked in October. To test, lift the fruit gently: if it comes off easily with the stalk, it is ready. Do not wait until they are soft on the tree, since they rot from the inside.
Ripen pears indoors at room temperature: Conference takes about a week, Comice up to two weeks after cool storage. Check daily, and eat when they give slightly at the neck.
Top tips
- Pick hard and ripen indoors.
- Lift and twist to test.
- Check the neck daily.
- Do not leave on the tree to soften.
Usage and storage
Eat fresh, poach in wine or syrup, bake in tarts and crumbles, or pair with blue cheese, walnuts and rocket in salads. Pears make wonderful chutney, jam, and perry. Poached pears with chocolate sauce are a classic.
Store hard, unblemished pears in a cool (0â4°C), dark, frost-free place for 1â3 months, wrapped in paper and not touching. Bring to room temperature to ripen. Poached or stewed pears freeze well.
Top tips
- Wrap pears for storage.
- Ripen at room temperature.
- Poach in wine.
- Pair with blue cheese.
Timings are typical for the UK and vary with region, frost dates and variety. See the planting calendar for every crop at a glance.