Pear Duchess summer

At the end of the 18th century, the English scientist Wheeler introduced the Duchess pear variety to the world. Later, varieties of this variety appeared, differing in terms of ripening. But they all have an amazing taste and a strong pear aroma. We will consider the summer Duchess pear. The homeland of the Duchess summer pear variety is also England, where it appeared in the 19th century. To this day, various varieties of "Duchesse" are among the most famous and popular types of pears (and they also gave the name to sweets and lemonade, the taste of which is familiar to everyone since childhood).

Next, we will talk about the main characteristics of the summer Duchess pear variety, how to properly plant seedlings and how to take care of the plant in the future.

Pear Duchess summer: variety description and characteristics

Pear Duchess summer: photo of the variety

Each pear variety has its own distinctive characteristics, such as tree size and crown shape, early maturity and yield, fruit taste and shelf life, as well as the ability to withstand diseases and adverse environmental influences.

Summer variety of pears Duchesse can be attributed to early ripening varieties - you can taste the first pears already four to five years after planting the tree, and in rare cases even after three years.

The summer variety of pears Duchesse can be considered late summer - the harvest is carried out in the second and third ten days of August.
Tall trees have a broad-pyramidal dense leafy crown, smooth gray bark and thick, crooked shoots.

One of the important advantages of the variety is its late (compared to other varieties of pears) flowering, thanks to this summer Duchess pear, spring frosts are not terrible.

The summer variety of pear Duchesse is self-fertile, which means that in addition to it, you will have to plant one or two pears that will participate in pollination. When choosing companions, you need to focus on the flowering periods - they must coincide. Among the varieties recommended by experts are Paz Crassan, Olivier de Serre, Bere Andranpon, Lyubimitsa Klappa, Forest Beauty.

Summer Duchess pears have an elongated classic pear-shaped shape, on average, their weight is about 200 grams. The skin of the fruit is firm, yet tender. When fully ripe, it has a golden yellow color and a red-orange "blush" on the side that was turned towards the sun while the fruit was on the tree.
The pulp of the fruit is white (yellow tint is possible), juicy, with a very delicate texture, sweet taste, without sourness, but with light notes of nutmeg.

A very important property of the Duchess summer pear variety is that the ripe fruits remain on the branch, and do not crumble.

From a culinary point of view, the Duchess summer pear variety is universal: it is tasty and healthy fresh, it is used to prepare baby food (mashed potatoes and juices), since it is one of the best varieties of pears in terms of taste. In addition, "Summer Duchess" can be used to prepare any preparations (preserves, confiture, jam, compotes, dried fruits), juice and homemade wine, as well as desserts of varying degrees of complexity (from filling for a pie or pancakes to pears in cognac).

When collecting pears, it is necessary to remove them from the tree along with the stalk, in this form they can be stored longer. Pear "Duchess summer" is stored for a couple of weeks at room temperature. If you put them in a refrigerator or cellar, then the shelf life of the fruits is about a month.If you plan to transport or store a crop, then you need to pick the fruit without waiting for full maturity and do it very carefully, without damaging the stalk and skin.

Sometimes the pear variety Duchess summer can be found under the name "Williams" or in our case "Williams summer", but as a rule, the seller indicates in the description the most common name "Duchess".
Another important advantage of the variety is its high yield, the indicators of which can fluctuate depending on the region in which the tree grows. Well, among the shortcomings, first of all, they are distinguished by low winter hardiness, therefore, when growing "Summer Duchess", for example, in the middle lane, it will have to be thoroughly wrapped up for the winter.

Pear Duchess summer: planting varieties

The best option would be to purchase a two-year-old tree. Going for seedlings, do not grab the first one that comes across, carefully examine the plants. Make sure that the branches of the tree are elastic and that the bark is smooth and free of damage. Leaves (if any) should be fresh and firmly attached to the tree.

Examine the root system of the seedling. There should be no traces of root drying, rot or mold, as well as mechanical damage.

Like all pears, the Duchess summer pear needs good lighting and a lot of sun. When choosing a place, consider, in addition to lighting, the future size of the tree, which will eventually become tall and spreading, so place it from other plants and from buildings at a sufficient distance.

As for the soil, the main requirement of the pear will be deep groundwater (no closer than 2.5 meters to the soil surface). The best result can be achieved on nutritious chernozem soils; the pear will also feel comfortable on light loam. If the soil on your site is sandy or, conversely, dense and heavy, then in order to plant a pear, you will have to dig a planting hole twice the usual size and fill it with nutritious soil (if the soil is heavy, then a drainage layer must be laid on the bottom).

The best time to plant trees is the second half of April. If you have not prepared the planting pit since the fall, then do it two to three weeks before the intended planting.

The depth of the planting pit is about a meter, and its diameter is 70-80 cm. You must immediately drive a stake into the bottom of the hole and make sure that it is stable - this is the future support of your seedling.

To prepare a nutritious soil mixture, use fertile soil from the planting pit, compost and peat, pour three winds of such a mixture into the pit and spread the roots of the seedling on the formed mound.
Then they fill the hole with the remaining soil mixture, compact it a little and water it (two or three buckets of water will be required). The tree is neatly attached to the support without injuring the bark.

Pear Duchess summer: variety care

Pear Duchess summer: photo of the variety

Watering mode... The first time after planting, trees need regular watering (but do not forget to adjust the watering schedule depending on weather conditions).

In subsequent years, it is necessary to water the tree abundantly on the eve of flowering, after the tree has bloomed, and then in the fall, in September. After watering, it is imperative to loosen and weed the soil in the near-trunk circle, and then mulch its surface.

Summer pear Duchess reacts sharply to lack of moisture and drying out of the soil, so in dry summers you will have to take care of additional watering.

Fertilizers. In the year of planting, the seedling will have enough nutrition from the planting pit, so there is no need to feed it. In the future, the summer Duchess pear is annually fed with mineral fertilizers, and every three codes are fed with organic matter.

In the autumn period, the trunk circle is dug up and potash and phosphorus fertilizers are added to it.
To introduce organic matter (you can use compost or humus), you should make small depressions, put fertilizers in them, level and water the surface of the trunk circle.

Pruning. This procedure must be carried out in the spring, before the beginning of the growing season and sap flow. In the year of planting, the trunk and "skeletal" branches should be shortened by a quarter.

The next year, the trunk is cut by 20-25 centimeters, the remaining branches are shortened to a length of 5 to 8 cm, giving the crown the shape of a pyramid. In subsequent years, formative pruning is carried out according to the same principle.

In addition, dry, broken or frosty branches should be cut.

Harvesting. As we said above, the harvest takes place in the second or third decade of August. Pears adhere well to the tree, so the harvest can take several days - the fruit will not crumble or suffer. Undamaged and slightly unripe fruits will be stored at a low temperature for at least a month.

Preparing for the winter period. Winter hardiness is not the strong point of "Summer Duchess", therefore, before the onset of cold weather, the tree must be prepared for winter. After you have dug up and weeded out the trunk circle, and also introduced fertilizers into it, the surface must be covered with a layer of mulch. The trunk should be overlaid with spruce branches and wrapped on top with non-woven covering material. After the snow starts, throw as much snow as possible on the subtree, it will perfectly protect the roots of the plant from frost.

Diseases and pests

The strength of the Duchess summer pear variety is its yield and taste of the fruit, but with the ability to withstand diseases and harmful insects, everything is somewhat worse.
Very often the bark on the lower part of the trunk is damaged by mice, so it is recommended to wrap the tree with a fine metal mesh - this will provide reliable protection from rodents.

As a prophylaxis against insects in the spring (before the buds bloom) trees are treated with "Karbofos" or some other insecticide.

Prevention of fungal diseases is carried out twice a year: in early spring and autumn, after the leaves fall off. Trees should be sprayed with a solution of a preparation containing copper (vitriol, Bordeaux liquid).

In addition, it is necessary to regularly carry out sanitary pruning, weed the trunk circle and remove all plant residues (experienced gardeners recommend that they be burned without fail). To peel off flaky particles of bark from the trunk, under which pests can hide, whitewash the trunk with a mixture of lime and clay, and in the summer put on special belts on it, on the sticky surface of which harmful insects stick.

Conclusion

If we analyze the reviews of gardeners, we can come to the conclusion that almost the only drawback of the Duchess summer pear variety is its insufficient winter hardiness for the middle lane. Otherwise, this variety is almost ideal, summer residents are not even embarrassed by its self-fertility and the need to plant other trees that will contribute to the pollination process. Pears of this variety have such a great taste that, adding to this stable and high yields, we get a magnificent summer fruit tree of the Duchess pear variety, which every gardener will gladly grow in his garden.