Merton Pride
Pyrus communis Pedigree is often an indicator of quality and Merton Pride has an excellent one - it is related to the well-known English Williams pear, crossed with a Belgian variety of good repute called Glou Morceau. The result is undoubtedly one of the best quality English pears available, notable for its juicy buttery flesh.
Be sure to pick the fruits whilst they are still fairly hard, and then ripen indoors.
Merton Pride pear trees for sale
1-year bare-root
tree
on Pyrodwarf rootstock£40.50
Mature height: 3m-5m after 10 years
Can be trained on as a large pear tree, or half-standard pear tree.
Available next season
Growing and Training
Merton Pride is a triploid variety - which is fairly unusual amongst pears. As with triploid apples, this is reflected in its fairly vigorous growth and above average disease resistance, but it is also unable to pollinate other pears. It needs another pear tree nearby for pollination, Conference is a good choice for this purpose.
Although developed in England and with a part-English ancestry, Merton Pride has both the flavour and growing requirements of the top French pears. It is best grown in the south and east of England, in a warm sunny spot and on good soil - if you can provide these conditions then you should be rewarded with high quality pears.
Merton Pride is quite difficult to propagate in the nursery and is usually only available on the more vigorous rootstocks.
Recommended pollinators for Merton Pride pear trees
Merton Pride 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 Merton Pride.
If you are not sure about pollination requirements don't hesitate to ask us.
More pollinators >
Beurre SuperfinA traditional French 19th century pear, widely considered one of the best for flavour.
ConcordeA marriage of Conference and Comice - Concorde is easy to grow, heavy crops, excellent flavour.
ConferenceConference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to the UK climate.
GorhamA reliable early 20th century American pear, with a sweet creamy flesh.
History
Developed in the 1940s at the famous John Innes Institute at Merton, Surrey, England. Merton Pride is a cross between Williams and Glou Morceau.
Merton Pride characteristics
- Gardening skillAverage
- Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
- Self-fertile?Not self-fertile
- Pollinating othersPoor
- Pick seasonMid
- Picking periodmid-September
- Keeping1 week
- Food usesEating fresh
- Country of originUnited Kingdom
- Period of origin1900 - 1949
You might also like these varieties
BethAn easy and reliable early-season pear, with a very good melting flavour.
ConcordeA marriage of Conference and Comice - Concorde is easy to grow, heavy crops, excellent flavour.
ConferenceConference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to the UK climate.
WilliamsWilliams 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.
