Merton Pride pear trees
Pyrus communis - Picking season: Mid
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 4
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
Bare-root
BR11-year bare-root treePyrodwarf rootstock£40.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR21-year bare-root treePyrus c. Kirchensaller rootstock£40.50
Very large tree
(4m-7m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
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
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
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 >
ConferenceConference is a popular and reliable English pear, well-suited to the UK climate.
ConcordeA marriage of Conference and Comice - Concorde is easy to grow, heavy crops, excellent flavour.
GorhamA reliable early 20th century American pear, with a sweet creamy flesh.
Beurre SuperfinA traditional French 19th century pear, widely considered one of the best for flavour.
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
- Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
- Flowering group4
- Pollinating othersPoor
- Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesWarm climates
- Picking seasonMid
- CroppingGood
- Keeping (of fruit)1 week
- Food usesEating fresh
- Country of originUnited Kingdom
- Period of origin1900 - 1949
- Blossom colourWhite
British-grown trees 
Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK.
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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.
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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.
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