Beurré Hardy pear tree, early and abundant

Sweet fruit with melting white flesh, carried on a tree whose small white, sometimes pink flowers are worked by bees: ‘Beurré Hardy’ (Pyrus communis) is grown above all for ripening ahead of most other pears, and has been described in books since 1830. Give it full sun and steer clear of dry, chalky soil, and a pear tree may crop for close to two centuries.

Beurré Hardy pear at a glance

Name	Pyrus communis ‘Beurre Hardy’ or ‘Beurré Hardy’
Family	Rosaceae
Type	Fruit tree
Height	16 to 50 feet (5 to 15 metres)
Soil	Ordinary
Exposure	Full sun
Foliage	Deciduous
Harvest	Late summer to mid-autumn

Pruning and planting are all practices that will increase harvests if done properly.

Planting a ‘Beurre Hardy’ pear tree

This pear tree, like most trees in general and pear trees in particular, is best planted in fall to favor root development before winter.

If you’re planning on planting in spring or in summer, provide for more regular watering, especially at the beginning.

• Dig a hole 20 inches (80 cm) wide and 16 inches (60 cm) deep.
• Prepare a mix of garden soil and soil mix.
• Ideally, layer along the bottom of the hole some type of soil conditioner, such as manure or seaweed, or dehydrated manure.
• Position your Beurre Hardy pear tree in the hole so that the base of the trunk is slightly higher than ground level.
• Backfill with the mix of soil and soil mix.
• Water like the monsoon and then press the soil down in order to eliminate any air bubbles that might keep the soil and roots from touching.
• Find our advice on planting here, too.

Note that the Beurre Hardy pear tree should not be planted in dry and chalky soil.

Other pear varieties to grow alongside ‘Beurré Hardy’

Because pears crop far better in company, it helps to know the partners you are most likely to find on sale. These are all widely grown varieties, chosen here for when they ripen and how long the fruit keeps.

Pollinating Beurre Hardy pear flowers

The ‘Beurre Hardy’ pear tree pollinates well when planted near ‘Conference’, ‘Dr Jules Guyot’, ‘Doyenné du Comice’ and ‘Williams’ pear trees.

Pruning and caring for a Beurre Hardy pear tree

So that you may support the tree in producing many beautiful pears, it is important to perform a fruit-inducing pruning before spring growth has started.

• Look up the different steps of a pear tree’s pruning cycle.

Harvesting ‘Beurre Hardy’ pears

When should pears be harvested? This is a common question, because it is sometimes difficult to determine the best moment.

Know that you should not just wait for them to fall to harvest. For this pear tree, harvest season is most often around September/October.

Actually, if you twist them a quarter of a turn and that they detach without needing to force anymore, then you know the right time to harvest the pears has come.

Diseases and insects that attack Beurre Hardy pear tree

• Powdery mildew – white velvet covers leaves.
• European brown rot – pears rot while still on the tree.
• Codling moths or fruit worm – brown stains on leaves and fruits
• Apple scab – brown stains on leaves and fruits.
• Rust – brownish-orange lesions appear on the underside of leaves.
• Aphids – leaves lose their original color and curl themselves into tube shapes

Learn more about the Beurre Hardy pear

This pear variety is quite old since it was first put down in books in 1830.

It is also one of the earliest fall pears ready for harvest It is much liked for its sweet fruit with melting white flesh.

Pear trees, famous for their long lifespan (sometimes nearly 200 years), are trees native to Europe and Asia. They are usually of average size, but some specimens are known to reach 50 feet (15 meters) in height.

Pear trees blossom as soon as April, and produce marvelous little white flowers, sometimes pink, that bees pollinate in spring.

They can also be found in the wild, in our gardens, or in large orchards for commercial pear production.

 

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