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Flemish Beauty Pear on OHxF 87 (Spring 2025)

You are viewing a tree that will ship in Spring 2025. You can also find trees for Spring 2024.

A hardy, self-fertile pear with exceptionally good flavor. Also known as Fondante de Boise, Sweetmeat of the Woods, Barnard, Bosc Peêr, Pear of the Woods.

For a European pear, Flemish Beauty is exceptionally self-fertile. It will, however, be even more productive in the presence of a pollenizer. The tree has a spreading habit with drooping branches.

The fruit ripens about two weeks after Bartlett. It is large, with clear yellow skin that bears an attractive blush on the exposed cheek and a fine russet. The flavor is unmatched: rich and musky with balanced sugars and acids. Hedrick writes in Pears of New York, "a bright-cheeked Flemish Beauty is as handsome as any pear, and is almost unapproachable in quality; the flavor is nicely balanced between sweetness and sourness, very rich, and has a pleasing muskiness." Flemish Beauty should be picked when full sized and allowed to finish ripening off the tree. This pear is not recommended for extended storage before final ripening.

Flemish Beauty has fallen out of favor with commercial growers on account of its susceptibility to fireblight. For the home grower, however, it is worth the extra effort; the exceptional flavor of the fruit and the vigor and cold hardiness of the tree compensate for difficulties in cultivation. Fireblight is not generally considered to be a problem for small isolated orchards.

Flemish Beauty has a complex history. It is reported to be a descendent of a wildling found in the woods in East Flanders, Belgium around 1800, when its original name was Bosc Peêr or Pear of the Woods. In 1810 its propogation was taken up by Van Mons, who renamed the pear Fondante de Bois "Candy of the Woods," and it was broadly known in Europe by this name for many years. In 1931, however, Lindley described this pear as being widely cultivated in England under the name Flemish Beauty. Van Mons popularized the pear in America, donating grafts to numerous friends and acquaintances, and Flemish Beauty was recommended for general cultivation during the very first meeting of the American Pomological Society in 1848.

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For a European pear, Flemish Beauty is exceptionally self-fertile. It will, however, be even more productive in the presence of a pollenizer. The tree has a spreading habit with drooping branches.

The fruit ripens about two weeks after Bartlett. It is large, with clear yellow skin that bears an attractive blush on the exposed cheek and a fine russet. The flavor is unmatched: rich and musky with balanced sugars and acids. Hedrick writes in Pears of New York, "a bright-cheeked Flemish Beauty is as handsome as any pear, and is almost unapproachable in quality; the flavor is nicely balanced between sweetness and sourness, very rich, and has a pleasing muskiness." Flemish Beauty should be picked when full sized and allowed to finish ripening off the tree. This pear is not recommended for extended storage before final ripening.

Flemish Beauty has fallen out of favor with commercial growers on account of its susceptibility to fireblight. For the home grower, however, it is worth the extra effort; the exceptional flavor of the fruit and the vigor and cold hardiness of the tree compensate for difficulties in cultivation. Fireblight is not generally considered to be a problem for small isolated orchards.

Flemish Beauty has a complex history. It is reported to be a descendent of a wildling found in the woods in East Flanders, Belgium around 1800, when its original name was Bosc Peêr or Pear of the Woods. In 1810 its propogation was taken up by Van Mons, who renamed the pear Fondante de Bois "Candy of the Woods," and it was broadly known in Europe by this name for many years. In 1931, however, Lindley described this pear as being widely cultivated in England under the name Flemish Beauty. Van Mons popularized the pear in America, donating grafts to numerous friends and acquaintances, and Flemish Beauty was recommended for general cultivation during the very first meeting of the American Pomological Society in 1848.


The Fruit

Fruit Type

Category: Pear
Subcategory: European, Self-Fertile, Cold-Hardy

Fruit Uses & Storage

Uses: fresh eating
Storage duration: less than one month (approximate, depending on storage conditions)

Fruit Appearance

Skin color: yellow
Flesh color: off-white

Fruit Origins

Parentage: unknown
Origin: Belgium
Introduced in: 1800's
Introduced by:

The Environment

Calendar & Geography

USDA zones: 3 - 8
Chill hours: 800
Ripening date: Sep 03 (approximate, in New York State) + 14 days after Bartlett

Tree Height & Spacing

Rootstock: OHxF 87 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Half-Standard (75% of Standard)
Tree spacing: See details
Good for wildlife planting? N

Diseases & Pests

Fireblight: Susceptible
Pear Scab: Very Susceptible

Pollination

Pollination Factors

Bloom group: 3
Is it self-fertile? Partial
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Diploid
Rootstock size class: Half-Standard (75% of Standard)

Pollination Partners

This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Flemish Beauty Pear on OHxF 87. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.

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See all pollination matches for Flemish Beauty Pear on OHxF 87






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