Williams pear trees - self-fertile

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• Picking season: Early
• Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
• Flowering group: 3
• Awards: RHS AGM (former) 1993

Williams is a classic self-fertile English pear, with good flavour, heavy-cropping, and quite easy to grow.

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Available to buy - Williams pear trees

Choose a size - pot-grown

All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.

• PG1Premium cordon 12L pot-grown tree, Quince Eline rootstock£61.50< 5 in stock
  Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
  

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• PG22-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree, Quince A rootstock£58.75
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

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• PG3Premium half-standard 12L pot-grown tree, Quince A rootstock£64.50
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock

Choose a size - bare-root

• BR11-year bare-root tree,Quince Eline rootstock£38.25
  Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
• BR22-year bush-trained bare-root tree,Quince Eline rootstock£47.95
  Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
• BR31-year bare-root tree,Quince A rootstock£38.25
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
• BR42-year bush-trained bare-root tree,Quince A rootstock£47.50
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
• BR52-year half-standard bare-root tree,Quince A rootstock£48.50
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
• BR61-year bare-root tree,Pyrodwarf rootstock£40.50
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
• BR72-year bare-root tree,Pyrodwarf rootstock£49.00
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
• BR81-year bare-root tree,Pyrus c. Kirchensaller rootstock£38.25
  Very large tree (4m-7m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
• BR92-year (1.75m) bare-root tree,Pyrus c. Kirchensaller rootstock£49.00
  Very large tree (4m-7m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock

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Need help?

Ask our fruit tree experts on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.

Tree specification

Photos of trees as supplied | Tree sizes and forms

Next deliveries

Order now for delivery from week commencing 11th May.

Delivery charges

Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.

All about Williams pear trees

One of the oldest English dessert pears, it was discovered in the late 18th century and quickly became popular. In England and Europe it is known as Williams or sometimes Williams Bon Chretien, after the nurseryman who first propagated it, whereas in North America it is usually known as Bartlett.

If you buy tinned pears, they are very likely to be this variety. Don't let this put you off though - Williams is a good early-season pear variety for the gardener too, with a very good flavour and fairly easy to grow.

Growing and Training

Make sure you pick the crop just before it becomes ripe - which will be late August or early September in the UK.

Williams is generally easy to grow but can be susceptible to scab in wetter areas.

Cropping is usually reliable even in less than ideal conditions, and Williams is a good choice for pear enthusiasts in the north of the UK.

History

UK, 18th century. This pear is known both as Williams and Bartlett.

The fascinating origins of this pear were recorded by the Victorian fruit enthusiast Robert Hogg. He credited its discovery to either a Mr Wheeler or a Mr Stair, both schoolmasters in the town of Aldermaston, Berkshire, England some time before 1770. It was subsequently propagated by a nurseryman, Mr Williams of Turnham Green - who named it the Williams pear (perhaps to cut through the confusion surrounding its origins).

In 1799 trees were sent to the United States - a good demonstration of the close ties that already existed between England and the newly-independent United States. The imported Williams pear trees were planted in an orchard near Boston and came to the attention of a local nurseryman, Mr Bartlett, who played an important role in popularising the variety in the USA. It appears the original variety name was uncertain by this stage, so Bartlett (nicely repeating the decision of his English counterpart) decided to give it his own name.

In this way the new variety became known as Bartlett in North America and Williams in the UK and Europe.

Hogg suggests that the Bartlett pear was well suited to the climate of its new home, and was soon regarded as "the finest pear of its season". It became a major commercial variety in the USA.

You might also like these varieties

• 
  Concorde
  A marriage of Conference and Comice - Concorde is easy to grow, heavy crops, excellent flavour.
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  Conference
  Conference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to the UK climate.
• 
  Gorham
  A reliable early 20th century American pear, with a sweet creamy flesh.
• 
  Invincible
  Invincible is a high quality pear which can also cope with difficult conditions.

British-grown trees

Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK. Find out more.

All our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance. Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. Find out more.

Guaranteed fruit trees

When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden while it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund, subject to some conditions. Find out more.

More about pear trees

Pears are amongst the most desirable of all orchard fruits, with their characteristic sweet flavours. Most of the varieties we know today arose in the first half of the 19th century, when there was an explosion of interest among amateur and professional growers in raising new varieties, particularly in Belgium, France, and England. The aim was to achieve a buttery soft flesh and exquisite rich flavour.

Unlike apples, pears which are grown for eating fresh - known as dessert pears - can't usually be eaten straight from the tree, and should not be left to ripen on the tree. Instead aim to pick them just before they are ripe, and then place them in a fruit bowl for a few days.