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All about apples, pears, plums, and cherries - and orchards where they are grown

Winter Nelis Pear tree

Owner: Cheuk

Location:  Amsterdam, NOORD-HOLLAND, Netherlands

Age:Planted in about 2010
Age of this tree:15 years
Rootstock:It's on a slow growing rootstock. Winter nelis cannot be grafted directly on a rootstock.
Soil:Plot has peaty/acidity soil, soil is really really poor soil 
Climate at this location:zone 7a, mild sea climate, lots of sun, lots of wind, hedge to slowdown some wind
Pruning:Last year 2021 lots of rain and quite cold. The new winter nelis shoots got infected with a fungal disease
Tree form:Espalier
Height:Up to 6ft / 2m
Cropping:Light crops
Growth:This tree grows fairly well here
Herbicides:Manual treatment (hoeing and weeding)
Pesticides:Organic treatments
Local pests:wasps, birds, mice, sometimes fungal disease, plum moth or some other moth problem.

Owner's comments

Winter nelis (aka bonne de malines) is one of my most favourite pears. I think my trees may be 12, 15 years old. Until 3 years ago, I only got one or two pears from my three trees, because they were heavily attacked by pests, like birds, mice, moths or fungal diseases. In the last two or three years, I took a good look at the swelling fruit; I mean at it's beginnings, and the young fruit with the wrong colour or the wrong shape gets picked; because it is probably full with larvae. So after two years selecting bad young winter nelis pears, I have nice beautiful pears. But I still have to mind these trees, to make sure the larvae are picked while they are in the fruit. I throw the picked baby pears in a container with water and leave them there for a week. Just long enough to make sure the larvae are dead. Taste winter nelis pears: Deliciously sweet, very juicy, melting, rich perfume, richly flavoured fruit flesh.

Season records for this tree

  • 2022

    Spring blossom: 4 May
    Canker: Not present
    Scab: Severe attack
    Mildew: Not present
    Fireblight: Mild attack
    Cedar-apple rust: Not present
    Woolly aphid: Not present
    Codling moth: Severe attack
    Plum fruit moth: Severe attack
    Silverleaf: Not present
    This pear is sickly, but produces the most wonderful pears you can imagine. This year no pears I think. I have three trees and all fruit swellings are nibbled on, have some scab on them, or are full with codling or plum moth larvae.