Conference Pear Tree

Conference Pear trees are popular for their good crop of delicious dessert pears. Ready in late September, the long, slender pears have green russet skin. Cream-coloured flesh is relatively firm and juicy with a sweet rosewater flavour.

An award-winning variety, Conference Pear trees are a great choice for less favourable Northern positions. They are a reliable cropper with some disease resistance, making them an excellent all-rounder.

Attractive white blossom is popular with pollinating wildlife. Conference is self fertile, so no other pollinator is needed to produce a good crop of fruit.

AKA Pyrus communis 'Conference'

Nigel's Nursery Notes: Conference Pear is available on a variety of different rootstocks to control vigour, as well as an upright cordon and mature specimens.

• Use: Eating Pear
• Cropping period: Mid season (Late September)
• Keeping period: 2 months
• Flavour: Sweet, Rosewater
• Awards: RHS Award of Garden Merit
• Heritage: Hertfordshire C19
• Pollination group: B Self fertile
• Height in 10 years*: Quince C (dwarf) 2m, Quince A (semi vigorous) 3-3.5m

*Indication of the un-pruned height of this pear tree variety on different rootstocks. Variations will occur due to planting position, pruning, geography etc.

Planting Advice for Conference Pear Trees

Conference is self-fertile and doesn’t require a pollination partner. If you do want to plant multiple pear trees, they should be spaced according to their rootstock, for example a Quince A (semi-vigorous) rootstock will require approx. 3 metres between trees, whereas a Quince C (dwarf) rootstock will require approx. 2 metres between trees.

Pot grown Conference pear trees can be planted at any time of the year but bare root ones need to be planted between November and March. Remove weeds and grass within a metre of your desired planting hole then dig a hole slightly deeper than your root mass and approximately 3x as wide. To help pear trees establish more effectively, apply root grow. Then gently loosen the roots and place into the planting hole. Using 50% of the original soil and 50% compost, fill in the hole and firm around gently without banking soil up around the collar of the tree.

We recommend planting pear trees using a stake and tie kit plus rabbit guard, unless you are cordon or espalier training them in which case they will need wire support systems. The Pear Tree Planting & Care guide has further information.

Watering & Aftercare Advice for Conference Pear Trees

If you’re planting in spring, summer or dry weather, water well and regularly for the first few months. If you’re planting in autumn, you may only need to water your tree a little. Keep an eye on young pear trees and adjust watering as required. To check if the soil requires further water, dig a finger down into the soil, a few centimetres, and if the soil feels even slightly moist, it does not need further watering. If it feels dry, water and repeat this test again. Keep the area free of competing weeds and grass for the first couple of growing seasons.

Pruning Advice for Conference Pear Trees

It is important to prune your pear tree for the first few years after planting to ensure a healthy, balanced shape. Your tree should have one central leader and several strong side shoots. Straight after planting, remove the lowest laterals and prune the rest back to about 10-15cm in length. Carry out this type of formative pruning in early spring.

In the following years, remove any shoots growing out of the trunk to maintain a clear stem. Also remove crossing, diseased or damaged branches. If your tree is looking overcrowded, remove some of the larger branches to open up the canopy. Carry out this type of pruning between November and March.

Delivery Costs

1 small tree (most under 1.5 metres in height) : £9.95 + vat

1 medium tree (most 1.5-2 metres in height) or 2-4 small trees: £11.95 + vat

2+ medium trees or 5+ small trees: £14.95 + vat

1-4 trees delivered by pallet to kerbside (inc. mature Japanese Maples): 24.95 + vat

Mature trees, pleached trees or orders too large for pallet: Cost is calculated in the checkout process and varies by postcode not quantity. Starts from £48 + vat.

The above prices exclude the Scottish Highlands, where delivery starts from £24.95 + vat and is calculated in the checkout process. Please note, we are unable to deliver outside of Mainland UK.

Delivery Timescales

All trees are carefully packed by our experienced team and most are delivered within 3 weeks of placing the order, unless stated otherwise. There's no need to be in to receive your order and you can request where it is left via the checkout.

For pleached and mature trees (trees over 2.5m in height), we group orders together by geographic area for specialist delivery - we will contact these customers about the delivery date.

Trees on pre-order are still growing and an estimate of when they will be ready is on the product/basket page. Orders are despatched once all trees are ready.

Gift trees and those required by a specific date can be accommodated with pleasure, although we accept no legal responsibility for late deliveries.

To collect trees, please book an appointment. Delivery charges will be refunded.

The product table at the bottom of the page gives the forms and sizes available for this variety. Please note, photos are a guideline as all plants are unique. *Pot sizes may vary. Below are definitions of terms:

Supplied Size: Height measured from the top of the pot.

Single Stem / Pruned and shaped: Classic shaped tree with a single stem that has had pruning to help create a beautiful, natural shape.

Top grafted: A height noted next to this form refers to the length of clear stem, which will not grow taller. Only the head of branches will develop. Top grafted trees do not require complicated pruning and are ideal for small spaces.

Feathered: A feathered tree has branches from the bottom of the trunk all the way up. These branches can be removed if a clear stem is required.

Multi Stem: A multi stem tree has two or more stems arising from or near ground level, growing from one root system.

Bush: A plant with many stems low down, rather than one clear stem.

Clump: Several plants in one pot that can give the appearance of a multi stemmed and very bushy tree.

Climber: A plant that is a natural climber and will be delivered usually running up a bamboo cane, ready to position in the garden.

Standard Tree: A more mature tree with an upright clear stem of approximately 1.8m-2.0m (measured from the soil to the lowest branches of the crown). Standards are available in different forms relating to their girth size (circumference of the stem measured 1m above soil level), not height:

Standard  either 6-10cm or 8-10cm girth, approximately 2.5-3.0m in height
Premium Standard  10-12cm girth, approximately 3.0-3.5m in height
Heavy Standard  12-14cm girth, approximately 3.5-4.5m in height
Extra Heavy Standard 14-16cm girth approximately 4.0-6m in height