Pear fruit was valued in antiquity for its taste, nutritional and medicinal value.Today we can feast on sweet, fragrant fruit of many varieties.Unfortunately, there is often a problem with buying them. For commercial purposes, fruits are picked which are still unripe and hard, but they have not had time to develop the full aroma.
Putting the whole fruit away to ripen does not help much. In a warm room, their flesh will quickly become too soft and gain little taste.Therefore, it is best when we decide ourselves when to harvest the fruit.
There are pears in cultivation with different ripening times.The fruits of summer varieties, such as 'Lipcówka Kolorowa' and 'Faworytki', are primarily suitable for consumption immediately after picking. Autumn varieties that ripen from September, e.g. 'Konferencja', 'Lukasówka', 'Bera Hardy', also have tasty fruit after picking, but they can be stored in a cool room for up to four weeks.
Pears of winter varieties should be left on the tree as long as possible to pick them from mid-OctoberStored fruit of late varieties, such as 'Confectionery', 'Madame Vert', 'Parisian' ( up to 10-15 cm tall), they produce a juicy, delicate flesh with a full aroma within 4-6 weeks. Some varieties are a curiosity, e.g. 'Santa Maria', with very hard but tasty fruit.
By nature, pears grow stronger than apple trees. If there is little space in the garden, let us plant grafted varieties on quince rootstocks. Such plants can be grown in the form of a slender bush or a column.However, they are not long-lived, but they are sensitive to high substrate humidity and excess calcium, and freeze more easily.
In worse conditions and in higher regions, it is worth growing grafted varieties on strong pear rootstocks, also in rows. The fruits of autumn pear trees can be harvested when their peel turns from green to yellow.When picked too early, they are firm, and when harvested late, they have a floury flesh.
In the case of winter pear trees, the time of harvesting is more difficult to recognize. At an even daily temperature, the fruit stays green longer.For trial purposes, you can cut two fruits and judge their ripeness by the color of the seeds and the taste of the flesh.
Valuable varieties for large and small gardens
- 'Williams Christ' is a demanding autumn variety that requires many care treatments.Connoisseurs like to cultivate this variety, discovered in the 18th century due to the delicate nutmeg aroma of the fruit.
- 'Tongern' ripens from the end of September to the beginning of October. Under the red-brown skin of the fruit there is a slightly spicy, sweet flesh that delicately melts in the mouth.
- 'Harrow Delight' is a fire-resistant summer pear tree. Its fruit has an aroma similar to that of Williams Christ. It does not tolerate quince rootstocks.Grafted on the rootstock
from a pear tree is made in the form of a tall tree.
- 'Uta' comes from 'Madame Verte', a traditional winter pear with tasty fruit. It is especially suitable for keeping in the form of a small tree. Fruits with a brown, slightly rough skin can be stored until February.
