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Simple bare root fruit trees and ornamental trees

Black Worcester

Pyrus communis
Black Worcester pear pears
Black Worcester is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators

Black Worcester is probably the oldest English pear still in use. It can be traced back to the early 16th century, and is probably much older than that.

Black Worcester pre-dates the trend towards the Continental sweet buttery-fleshed pears that became popular in Victorian England. Instead the flesh remains hard, more like an apple, and is interspersed with gritty flecks. It sounds somewhat off-putting, but don't worry - this is not a pear you eat fresh, but rather one for the kitchen. Slow cooking transforms the fruits, and this is the definitive choice for traditional English stewed pears.

Black Worcester is also quite widely known as the Warden pear, although this is probably an old English term used to describe any long-keeping culinary pear.

Black Worcester pear trees for sale

  • 1-year bare-root tree on Pyrus c. Kirchensaller rootstock£28.25
    Mature height: 5m-7m after 10 years
    Can be trained on as a 'standard' pear tree, no staking required, suitable for a traditional pear orchard.
    Available next season

Growing and Training

Like many ancient fruit varieties, Black Worcester is easy to grow and relatively untroubled by the usual pear diseases.

Pick the pears in the middle / end of October, and store in a cold garage or fridge. Unlike more modern pears, they will readily keep for a couple of months.


Recommended pollinators for Black Worcester pear trees

Black Worcester is not self-fertile and is also a poor pollinator of other varieties. Ideally you need two other different but compatible varieties planted nearby in order to produce fruit, or one compatible self-fertile variety. The following varieties are good pollinators for Black Worcester. If you are not sure about pollination requirements don't hesitate to ask us. More pollinators >

  • Pollinator Beth
    Beth
    An easy and reliable early-season pear, with a very good melting flavour.
  • Pollinator Conference
    Conference
    Conference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to the UK climate.
  • Pollinator Gin
    Gin
    A rare English perry pear variety with good disease resistance and medium acid and tannins.
  • Pollinator Moonglow
    Moonglow
    A high quality early season dessert and culinary pear, very resistant to fireblight.
  • Pollinator Sensation
    Sensation
    A red-coloured sport of the popular Williams pear, with a similar good flavour.
  • Pollinator Thorn
    Thorn
    An ancient pear variety from Gloucestershire, now used mainly for perry production.
  • Pollinator Williams
    Williams
    Williams is a classic English pear, also known as Bartlett, with good flavour and quite easy to grow.

History

The origins of Black Worcester are not certain, but it was known in the early 16th century, and famously appears on the coat of arms of the city of Worcester.


Black Worcester characteristics

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
  • Self-fertile?Not self-fertile
  • Pollinating othersPoor
  • Pick seasonVery late
  • Picking periodearly November
  • Keeping1-2 months
  • Food usesCulinary
  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Period of origin1550 - 1599
  • Fruit colourRed - dark

You might also like these varieties

  • See also Beth
    Beth
    An easy and reliable early-season pear, with a very good melting flavour.
  • See also Concorde
    Concorde
    A marriage of Conference and Comice - Concorde is easy to grow, heavy crops, excellent flavour.
  • See also Conference
    Conference
    Conference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to the UK climate.
  • See also Williams
    Williams
    Williams is a classic English pear, also known as Bartlett, with good flavour and quite easy to grow.

More about pear trees

The modern dessert pear really came into its own in the Victorian era. Before that pears were mainly used for cookery, and typically had a very hard dense flesh which was softened in stewing or baking. We still have some of these old-fashioned pear varieties, and they make an interesting addition to the kitchen garden.


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