Fondante d'Automne pear trees

(Belle Lucrative, Seigneur Esperen)

Pyrus communis

Fondante d'Automne is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators

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Picking season: Late
Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
Flowering group: 4

Fondante d'Automne is a traditional French late-season pear variety with a sugary sweet flavour, very typical of the dessert pears which became fashionable in Europe in the 1830s. It soon became popular in England and the Americas - it is described by the English fruit enthusiast Robert Hogg, writing in the 1880s as "a delicious autumn pear".

The fruits are of medium size, usually covered with a light russet, and they have a fine-grained buttery flesh.

For best results, as with most pears, pick the fruits before they are fully ripe on the tree and ripen in a fruit bowl.

Fondante d'Automne organic pear trees for sale

1 yeartree on PyroDwarf rootstock24.25€
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
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Growing and Training

Although never really a commercial variety, Fondante d'Automne is widely grown throughout Europe, North America, and Australia and is suitable for both warm climates and cool temperate climates. It seems relatively untroubled by the usual pear diseases.

History

Fondante d'Automne was raised in the 1820s, either by Mr Fievee of Maubeuge in northern France or Major Esperen of Malines in Belgium. It is usually known as Belle Lucrative in the USA and Australia. In Europe it is sometimes known as Seigneur Esperen.