Best Pear Varieties for Scotland

Pears want more warmth and shelter than apples, so in Scotland the choice is as much about which varieties can cope with the site you have as about flavour. Eight are recommended, and three of them ask for a warm spot.

What Scotland means for the choice

Pears crop best in a warm, sunny, sheltered position protected from late frosts, and because they flower significantly earlier than apples, the blossom is at greater risk. Beurré Superfin needs a warm, sheltered site to perform well, Joséphine de Malines needs a warm site and Gorham does best in a warm spot, so those three suit a south- or west-facing wall rather than an open Scottish garden. The plant pages for Beurré Hardy, Beurré Superfin, Doyenné du Comice, Gorham and Joséphine de Malines also say the tree won't thrive on very acid soils, and much of Scotland's soil is naturally acidic, so test yours before planting. The pear growing guide covers rootstocksThe root system and lower stem a fruit tree is grafted onto, chosen to control the tree's eventual size rather than for its own fruit. Full definition →, spacing and pruning.

All eight hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGMThe RHS's Award of Garden Merit: a UK-wide trials award for reliable performance, not a Scotland-specific recommendation. Full definition →) and are rated H6The RHS's H1a–H7 scale for how much cold a plant can survive outdoors, H1a being tender indoor-only and H7 hardy anywhere in the UK. Full definition →, hardy to -20°C.

For an ordinary garden: Conference, Concorde and Beth

Conference grows 2.5 to 8m tall depending on the rootstock and can set fruit without pollination, though it fruits better with another variety nearby. It has very good flavour when fully ripe, but it flowers early, so choose a spot where frost won't reach the blossom. Concorde, a cross between Conference and Doyenné du Comice, gives good crops of well-flavoured fruit on a fairly compact tree. It's partially self-fertile and needs a partner in the same group for the biggest crop. Beth is a compact tree with small, sweet fruit, ready in September.

For a damp garden: Beurré Hardy

Beurré Hardy is a very hardy, vigorous tree with a melting, rose-scented flesh and good, regular crops. It resists scab, which thrives in damp weather, but it's slow to start bearing and needs a sheltered, sunny position.

For a warm wall: Comice, Superfin, Joséphine de Malines and Gorham

Doyenné du Comice has a very rich, juicy, buttery flavour and is excellent in quality, with moderate crops that improve as the tree ages.Beurré Superfin is a high-quality pear with fine, melting, scented flesh, ready in late September and October. Joséphine de Malines has a rich, buttery flavour and good, reliable crops, and the fruit keeps from November into December or January, though it bruises easily. Gorham is a reliable, self-fertile tree whose sweet, juicy fruit ripens in early autumn and stores for a month or two.

Which one for your situation

• An average site, one tree: Conference.
• A wet, humid garden: Beurré Hardy.
• A small plot: Beth.
• A warm, sheltered wall: Doyenné du Comice for flavour, or Gorham for reliability.
• Fruit into the new year: Joséphine de Malines, on a warm site.

Pears need pollinating by another pear flowering at the same time, unless the variety is self-fertile. Gorham is self-fertile, Conference can set fruit alone though it crops better with a partner, and Concorde is partly self-fertile. FleeceA lightweight, breathable fabric laid or draped over plants to trap a little warmth and keep off frost, wind and some flying pests. Full definition → over the branches on a frosty night protects the blossom.

Common questions

Sources