Spring / Summer 2025Pre-orders will be open again from May. Deliveries will begin again from late November.
Roots2Fruits logo
Roots 2 Fruits
Simple bare root fruit trees and ornamental trees

Santa Claus

Pyrus communis
Santa Claus pears
Santa Claus is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators

Santa Claus is a late-season dessert pear or winter pear. It is usually picked in October and then allowed to ripen in storage for Christmas.

The pears are large, and heavily russeted, with a sweet juicy flesh.

Santa Claus also has some ornamental appeal - the spring blossom is attractive and the leaves take on fiery-red tints in the autumn.

Santa Claus pear trees for sale

  • RF11-year bare-root tree on Pyrodwarf rootstock£34.95
    Mature height: 3m-5m after 10 years
    Can be trained on as a large pear tree, or half-standard pear tree.
    Available next season
  • RF21-year bare-root tree on Pyrus c. Kirchensaller rootstock£38.25
    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

Santa Claus does best in a warm sheltered location. Cropping can be light in UK conditions.

Santa Claus is not self-fertile, but readily cross-pollinates with other late-flowering pears.


Recommended pollinators for Santa Claus pear trees

Santa Claus 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 Santa Claus. 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 Concorde
    Concorde
    A marriage of Conference and Comice - Concorde is easy to grow, heavy crops, excellent flavour.
  • Pollinator Gorham
    Gorham
    A reliable early 20th century American pear, with a sweet creamy flesh.
  • Pollinator Beurre Superfin
    Beurre Superfin
    A traditional French 19th century pear, widely considered one of the best for flavour.

History

Santa Claus is thought to have originated from France in the 19th century. It was introduced to the RHS in the UK in 1905 by Colonel Brymer, who had obtained trees from Belgium.


Santa Claus characteristics

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
  • Self-fertile?Not self-fertile
  • Pollinating othersAverage
  • Pick seasonVery late
  • Picking monthOctober
  • Keeping3 months or more
  • Food usesEating fresh
  • Country of originFrance
  • Period of origin1850 - 1899
  • Fruit colourGreen - lightRusset

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.


Pages you viewed