Poire de Livre pear trees

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• Picking season: Very late
• Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
• Flowering group: 6

Poire de Livre is an ancient culinary pear from northern France. It is thought to have been in use since the early 17th century, and is so-named because of of its large fruits, which can weigh as much as one "livre" (pound in English).

The pears are picked in mid-October and have a dense hard flesh which is not palatable for eating fresh. They are normally peeled and then slowly poached or stewed. The pears can also be kept for several months in a fridge.

Poire de Livre is a good choice if you are looking for pears that can be used for traditional cookery.

Poire de Livre organic pear trees for sale

Next deliveries: December 2024 - February 2025

• 11 yeartree on PyroDwarf rootstock25.00€
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  

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• 21 yeartree on Kirchensaller rootstock24.25€
  Very large tree (5m-6m+ after 10 years) Bare-root
  

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• 3Half-standard (2 years)tree on PyroDwarf rootstock34.00€
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  

  Collection only - contact us

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Click here to view estimated delivery charges. Our 2-year trees and some pot-grown trees are too big or unsuitable for mail-order and are only available for collection direct from the nursery. Please contact us if you wish to order.

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If you do not hear from us by March you can contact us to pre-order for next autumn.

Growing and Training

Poire de Livre flowers quite late in the pear blossom season, and it is likely the blossom is not compatible with other pears. The tree is reliable, generally free of disease, and bears regularly.

Poire de Livre characteristics

• Gardening skillAverage
• Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
• Flowering group6
• Disease resistanceGood
• Picking seasonVery late
• Season of use3 months or more
• Food usesCulinaryTraditional cooker
• Country of originFrance
• Period of origin1600 - 1649
• Flesh colourWhite
• Fruit colourGreen - lightRussetYellow / Orange

Similar varieties

• 
  Hendre Huffcap
  A well-known English perry pear variety, and a reliable cropper. It makes a light, low-tannin perry.
• 
  Louise Bonne
  Louise Bonne is a pretty red-flushed French pear variety with sweet melting flesh.
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  Saint Mathieu
  Saint Mathieu is a traditional Franco-Belgian cooking pear.
• 
  Winnals Longdon
  A traditional English perry pear variety, produces a low tannin perry.

More about pear trees

While you can gently cook dessert pears, their sweet soft flesh can become simply bland in the kitchen. If you want to really cook with pears you need to use dedicated culinary varieties. These typically have very hard dense flesh, with strong but not particularly palatable flavours when eaten raw. The application of heat - typically by baking, poaching, or stewing - transforms and brings out their flavours.