Beth pear trees
Pyrus communis - Picking season: Early late August / early September
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 3
- Awards: RHS AGM (current) 1993
Beth is an excellent early-season pear, very well suited to the UK climate. It grows in a neat and compact fashion (although quite upright like most pears), 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.
In short Beth is the ideal pear for the allotment or back garden.
Beth pear trees for sale
Pot-grown
All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.
All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.
PG12-year bush-trained 11.5L pot-grown tree Quince Eline rootstock£62.00
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
PG22-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree Quince A rootstock£57.75< 5 in stock
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
PG3Premium half-standard 12L pot-grown tree Quince A rootstock£63.50< 5 in stock
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Bare-root
BR11-year bare-root treeQuince Eline rootstock£39.75< 5 in stock
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR22-year bush-trained bare-root treeQuince Eline rootstock£47.95
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR31-year bare-root treeQuince A rootstock£38.25
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR42-year bush-trained bare-root treeQuince A rootstock£47.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
BR52-year bare-root treeQuince A rootstock£47.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts
Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.
Tree specification
Photos of trees as supplied |
Tree sizes and forms
Next deliveries
Order now for delivery from week commencing 24th February.
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
Growing and Training
Beth is one of the easiest pears to grow, and along with Invincible and Conference is a good choice if you have less than perfect conditions.
Beth is a low-vigour variety, yet with a heavy cropping potential. This combination can lead to small fruit size, but this is readily addressed by thinning the fruitlets in late May - thinning is a particularly effective technique with Beth.
Beth comes into bearing quite young by the standards of most pears, you are likely to get some fruit within 2-3 years. However, be wary of letting it fruit too heavily too early, as this can slow further growth of the tree.
The picking season is starts at the end of August in the southern UK, a bit later further north. Beth is one of the few pear varieties that you can eat straight off the tree - most should be picked when still hard and ripened indoors.
Beth is self-sterile so needs a pollination partner, but will be pollinated by a large number of other pear varieties.
Pears are generally more tolerant than apples to wet soils, but much less tolerant of drought conditions. Like all pears, Beth benefits from watering during the spring, as soon as the blossom starts to appear - if there is insufficient rain then apply 4-5 litres of water per day.
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 >
ConferenceConference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to the UK climate.
ObeliskA useful dwarf pear tree for small gardens, it grows with a tidy upright habit and is self-fertile.
Winter NelisA late-season dessert pear from Belgium, with an excellent sweet flavour.
Glou MorceauA traditional 18th century Belgian pear with a notably rich sweet flavour.
Packham's TriumphPerhaps 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 by Henry Tydeman (who also developed many apple varieties including Tydeman's Late Orange). Beth is a cross between Beurre Superfin and Williams' Bon Chretien.
Beth characteristics
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
- Flowering group3
- Pollinating othersAverage
- Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climates
- Picking seasonEarly
- CroppingHeavy
- Keeping (of fruit)1 week
- Food usesEating fresh
- Scab (Apple and Pear)Some resistance
- Country of originUnited Kingdom
- Period of origin1900 - 1949
- Fruit colourGreen - light
- AwardsRHS AGM (current)
British-grown trees 
Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK.
Find out more.
In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance.
Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards
for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK.
Find out more
Guaranteed fruit trees
When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions.
Find out more.
