Core BLIMEY

There are 150 types of pear…and if you want a fruity delivery next autumn, it’s time to get planting

BACK in the late 19th Century, our domestic pear industry was on its knees. Vast quantities of the fruit were being shipped in from extensive plantations overseas and a foreign fruit exchange was set up at Covent Garden market for grocers to buy imported goods.

British pear-growers struggled to compete. Fed up with the foreign stranglehold on the pear market, prominent gardeners got together in 1888 at the Apple and Pear Conference in the grounds of the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden in Chiswick. Their aim was to select a variety suitable for large-scale production in this country.

Among the trees on display was a variety bred by Thomas Rivers, owner of Rivers Nursery in Hertfordshire. Its characteristics floored judges and it took first prize. Later named Conference, it was planted widely by growers and helped save our pear industry. Today, it still accounts for 90 per cent of British pear production.

It might be the best-known, but Conference isn’t the only pear tree worth growing.

There are 150 different ones available in the UK, delivering their tasty goods from mid-August

Homer described them as gifts from the gods

to October, depending on the variety. Their fruit come in a remarkable number of shapes, colours and sizes, with equally varied flavours.

If you fancy raising your own pears, autumn is the ideal time to plant container-grown and bareroot trees, as roots will establish readily in warm, moist soil before the arrival of winter. Mature specimens will provide fruit next year, while younger trees might take four years or more.

Pear trees are native to Central and Eastern Europe, along with parts of south-west Asia.

The fruit of the wild pear (Pyrus communis) is small, gritty and unpalatable, but many ancient civilisations developed trees with better fruit. The Romans had 40 varieties in cultivation by 200AD.

In Roman mythology, pears were sacred to the goddess Venus, while the Greek poet Homer described them as ‘gifts from the gods’. In ancient China, people considered pears a symbol of immortality and they were a popular motif in paintings and ceramics.

TAKE YOUR PICK: Doyenne du Comice in a pot, right. Main picture: A crop of organic fruit No one knows when pears arrived in Britain, but some historians believe it was after the Norman conquest. One thing we know for certain is that French varieties dominated orchards for centuries. Many old Gallic varieties are still around, such as ‘Doyenne du Comice’ and ‘Louise Bonne of Jersey’. There’s a misconception that pear trees are suitable only for those with large gardens. In fact, there are plants to suit every space. Standard trees are ideal where there’s plenty of room, while cordons (single-stems), espaliers and fans can be grown against walls and fences in smaller gardens.

Another option is to grow a dwarf pear in a pot.

Be aware that only a few pear trees are self-fertile, with the ability to produce fruit by themselves. Most need to be grown near another variety to allow cross-pollination of flowers.

And not all are compatible with each other, so ask suppliers to recommend varieties that can be grown together.

Pears prefer a sunny or partially shaded spot, with well-drained soil. For best results, select a sheltered place to prevent spring blossom from being damaged by frosts. Also, avoid any position that’s susceptible to strong winds, which are likely to displace pollen from flowers and deter bees and other pollinating insects.

Planting a container-grown pear tree is easy. Start by digging a hole that’s about twice the diameter of the rootball and the same depth, then spike the sides and bottom of the hole with a garden fork to allow roots to penetrate.

Place the tree in the centre and fill the gaps with soil, firming down as you go to remove air pockets.

Bare-root trees should be planted at the same depth as they were growing before being lifted from the ground – there should be an obvious ‘tidemark’ of soil on the trunk. Dig a hole that’s twice the diameter of the root system and deep enough so the mark on the trunk lines up with the surface.