- Sub-categories:
- Dessert pears28
- Cooking pears8
- Ornamental pear trees3
- Asian pear trees4
Pear trees
We have an extensive range of pear trees and can advise on choosing the best pear trees for your garden or orchard project.
Benita Rafzas®
Benita Rafzas is an unusual cross between an Asian and European pear.- Picking season: Early
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 2
Beurre Hardy
A classic French pear with a very good flavour, but grows best in a warm sheltered situation.£47.50 - £63.50buy- Picking season: Late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
- Awards: RHS AGM (current)
Beurre Superfin
A traditional French 19th century pear, widely considered one of the best for flavour.£40.50buy- Picking season: Late
- Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
- Awards: RHS AGM (current)
Black Worcester
The oldest true English pear, 16th century or earlier. Ideal for stewed pears.- Picking season: Very late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 3
Celebration NUVAR®
Nuvar Celeberation is a large modern dessert pear.£39.50buy- Picking season: Late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 3
Chanticleer
Chanticleer is an attractive ornamental pear, grown for its spring blossom and autumn leaf colours.£65.50 - £71.50buy- Awards: RHS AGM (former)
Clapps Favourite
An attractive red-flushed early-season pear from the USA.- Picking season: Early
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
Conference
Conference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to the UK climate.£38.25 - £63.50buy- Picking season: Mid
- Self-fertility: Self-fertile
- Flowering group: 3
- Awards: RHS AGM (current)
Conference Moors Giant®
Moors Giant is a natural sport of the popular Conference pear - all the same qualities, but with much larger fruit size.- Picking season: Mid
- Self-fertility: Self-fertile
- Flowering group: 3
- Awards: RHS AGM (current)
Doyenne du Comice
Doyenne du Comice is arguably the best flavoured of all pears.£38.25 - £62.00buy- Picking season: Late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
- Awards: RHS AGM (current)
Fondante d'Automne
An old fashioned French pear with a notably sweet flavour.£38.25 - £40.50buy- Picking season: Late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
Glou Morceau
A traditional 18th century Belgian pear with a notably rich sweet flavour.£38.25buy- Picking season: Late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 2
Invincible
Invincible is a high quality pear which can also cope with difficult conditions.£38.25 - £40.50buy- Picking season: Mid
- Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
- Flowering group: 2
Jargonelle
Jargonelle is a sweet early summer pear, and will grow in most situations.£40.50buy- Picking season: Early
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 3
Josephine de Malines
A classic 19th century winter pear with a high quality flavour.£40.50buy- Picking season: Very late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
- Awards: RHS AGM (current)
Louise Bonne of Jersey
An attractive red-flushed French pear variety with sweet melting flesh.£38.25 - £48.50buy- Picking season: Mid
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 2
- Awards: RHS AGM (former)
Merton Pride
One of the best English pears, with a notably juicy buttery flesh.£40.50buy- Picking season: Mid
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
Packham's Triumph
Perhaps the best known Australian pear, producing large quantities of small but sweet-flavoured pears.- Picking season: Late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 3
Pitmaston Duchess
Pitmaston Duchess is a traditional English dual-purpose, noted for the very large size of its pears.£40.50buy- Picking season: Late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
- Awards: RHS AGM (former)
Santa Claus
As the name suggests, Santa Claus is a late ripening dessert pear which keeps until Christmas.£40.50buy- Picking season: Very late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
Shipova
Shipova is a rare pear / whitebeam hybrid, producing small pear-like edible fruits.- Self-fertility: Self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
Silver Sails
An attractive upright flowering pear tree with silvery green foliage, and small ornamental fruits.£71.50buyWinter Nelis
A late-season dessert pear from Belgium, with an excellent sweet flavour.£57.75buy- Picking season: Late
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
How to choose Pear trees
Pears are related to apples, and most of the horticultural requirements and challenges of apples apply also to growing pear trees. However pear trees are a bit more demanding than apple trees - they prefer slightly warmer conditions and are a bit less tolerant of soil and situation, and crop yields are lower.
On the plus side, pear trees are less susceptible to the various pests and diseases commonly experienced with apples.
When it comes to flavour, pears have an aura of exclusivity which you don't tend to find in apples.
Although there are some culinary pear varieties, all the ones we offer are dessert pears - good for eating fresh, but also useful for culinary purposes too.
Pears are fundamentally self-sterile so will require a pollination partner, in other words a compatible pear tree of a different variety growing nearby. Even the varieties we list as self-fertile will be far more productive with a pollination partner. Conference is probably the only pear variety that is reliably self-fertile.