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Simple bare root fruit trees and ornamental trees

Beth

Pyrus communis
Beth pears
Beth has received the RHS Award of Garden MeritBeth is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators

Beth is an excellent early-season pear, very well suited to the UK climate. It grows in a neat and compact fashion and cropping is very good in most situations.

It has a particularly good flavour, with the characteristic melting texture usually associated with the French pear varieties.

Unlike most pears, which need to picked when slightly under-ripe and left to ripen in a fruit bowl, Beth pears can be left to ripen on the tree and eaten straight away.

 

Beth pear trees for sale

  • RF12-year bare-root tree on Quince Eline rootstock£47.95
    Mature height: 2m-3.5m after 10 years
    Can be grown on as a dwarf bush-trained fruit tree.
    Available next season
  • RF21-year bare-root tree on Quince A rootstock£38.25
    Mature height: 2m-3.5m after 10 years
    Can be trained on as a large bush-trained or half-standard tree, or a large fan or espalier.
    Available next season
  • RF32-year bare-root tree on Quince A rootstock£47.50
    Mature height: 2m-3.5m after 10 years
    Can be grown on as a large bush-trained fruit tree.
    Available next season

Recommended pollinators for Beth pear trees

Beth is not self-fertile, so you will need another different but compatible variety planted nearby in order to produce fruit. The following varieties are good pollinators for Beth. If you are not sure about pollination requirements don't hesitate to ask us. More pollinators >

  • Pollinator Conference
    Conference
    Conference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to the UK climate.
  • Pollinator Fondante d'Automne
    Fondante d'Automne
    An old fashioned French pear with a notably sweet flavour.
  • Pollinator Glou Morceau
    Glou Morceau
    A traditional 18th century Belgian pear with a notably rich sweet flavour.
  • Pollinator Josephine de Malines
    Josephine de Malines
    A classic 19th century winter pear with a high quality flavour.
  • Pollinator Louise Bonne of Jersey
    Louise Bonne of Jersey
    An attractive red-flushed French pear variety with sweet melting flesh.
  • Pollinator Moonglow
    Moonglow
    A high quality early season dessert and culinary pear, very resistant to fireblight.
  • Pollinator Obelisk
    Obelisk
    A useful dwarf pear tree for small gardens, it grows with a tidy upright habit and is self-fertile.
  • Pollinator Packham's Triumph
    Packham's Triumph
    Perhaps the best known Australian pear, producing large quantities of small but sweet-flavoured pears.

History

Beth was developed at the East Malling Research Station in the UK in the 1930s and is a cross between Beurre Superfin and Williams' Bon Chretien.


Beth characteristics

  • Gardening skillBeginner
  • Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
  • Self-fertile?Not self-fertile
  • Pollinating othersAverage
  • Pick seasonEarly - late August / early September
  • Picking periodlate August
  • Keeping1 week
  • Food usesEating fresh
  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Period of origin1900 - 1949
  • Fruit colourGreen - light

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 with its refined flavours and melting flesh evolved in the 19th century, and with some exceptions almost all the pears we know today were developed at that time.

Unlike apples, which often helpfully come away in the hand when they are ripe, if you let pears ripen on the tree you will find they are overripe inside. Instead pears need to be harvested before they are ripe - then ripened in a fruit bowl. This just takes practice, and after a few seasons you will soon know the tell-tale little signs that your pears are ready for picking.


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