Disasterous rainfall

Morettini

The non-stop rainfall we have been experiencing for the last couple of months has had a disasterous effect on the pears. Cultivars that are usually fairly robust and reliable have been affected by scab for the first time, and pollenation has been very low. Morettini is usually very healthy in growth, but nearly every fruitlet is completely covered with deep scab lesions. Beth is affected in both leaf and fruit, Winter Nelis and Josephine de Malines don't have a single fertilised fruitlet on the whole tree. Fondante d'Automne has just a couple that I could find. By contrast, Bishop's Thumb, Comice and Conference so far have bumper numbers of fruitlets, but overall I think it will be a very bad year for pears at least. A lot of the apple blossom was by contrast spoiled by unseasonably hard frosts but so far the fruit seems to have set. Fingers crossed that the season isn't an entire washout.

Evaluation: Morettini

A couple of fruit picked straight from the tree. Much riper than the first picking. The redder one was quite sweet and slightly buttery; the other a bit thinner and more astringent (by which I mean has more tannins). The fruit are an attractive shape and colour, very regular in shape and have very few blemishes to the skin of any kind. 

Flavour

Melting, sweet juicy, fine-texured with a thin skin and no trace of grit. More acidity than some, very evident if compared with Beth. Best eaten while slightly hard, with still traces of green still evident, as flavour falls off fairly quickly at full ripeness. One of the best varieties I grow for cooking (light poaching) probably because of the mild acidity; similar in cooked flavour/texture to Williams/Bartlett. 

8 foot tall half standard tree, grafted 2001 - 2:

7.5 kg picked

2 kg approx lost to wasps.

Total 10 kg approx, 21 lbs

Tree qualities - fairly vigourous, compact grow, resistant to scab and heavy cropping. However, flowering can be confused, with buds sometimes opening as early as December if the weather is too mild.

Early Blossom

Few people would consider growing pears for the blossom alone, but a few varieties are well worth including.

When I decided to fill my front garden with early/late varieties to extend the season, by chance I selected a number of varieties that were very early to bloom and very beautiful.

The photo shows Beurré Precose de Morettini.