12th yr tree and about third significant harvest. Didn’t bloom for about 6-7 yrs. One yr no bloom due to biennial issues. At least two yrs freeze out. But this is my best pear. Much firmer than Comice, about 23 brix this yr, and taste nice. Besides that they’re pretty.
Yes, you don’t see Bosc mentioned very often for home growing. It takes some years to bear, is susceptible to blight and is not as cold-tolerant as other pears. I expect that puts it off many nursery lists. But indeed what a great pear!
I am growing a variety called Docteur Desportes which Hartman calls “similar and equal to” Bosc in flavor. It got to 22 brix this last year for me and was my favorite pear this summer.
3 Likes
They are a pretty sight hanging on the tree all summer, shape, color, and the long stem. But like you say lots of issues. This is one of very few trees I’ve had go biennial. It probably won’t bloom at all next yr despite heavy thinning. I’d have taken off more but thought they might freeze out again next yr anyhow. I’d say I removed 80-90%. So unlike Comice setting isn’t an issue. Comice sets poorly, like 5% crop most yrs.
Mine has never had fire blight but a friend had a severe outbreak on his apples here this yr due to wetter than normal spring. So I could get hit by that any yr with a wet spell or two.
4 Likes
I would love to grow Bosc, it’s my favorite grocery store pear, but it
would be too FB prone here.
2 Likes
Those look great- enjoy!
1 Like
Bosc is by far my favorite of the supermarket European pears.
When did you harvest them?
2 Likes
Do you grow your pears in your greenhouse? If so, does that help at all with fire blight?
They are outdoors and I harvested both Bosc and Comice Sept 15-19. Next yr a little sooner at least for Comice. The Comice started to soften inside before they came out of fridge. The Bosc are about right now straight out of storage.
Being in greenhouse would totally eliminate FB. Over 40 yrs outdoors in west Texas and I’ve had no FB. Spring is normally very dry here. But the organism is around as my friend found out.
1 Like
Very surprised when I saw these. Extremely nice pears Fruitnut!
It is my favorite E. Pear as well.
A few years ago, I saw a Bosc pear tree at one PYO apple farm in central MA. It was sometime in Oct. All the leaves on that tree had drppoed. So many brown, long neck Bosc hanging on the tree. Quite an impressive site.
That was the only time I saw Bosc full of fruit. It is the only E. pear I buy from supermarkets.
A neighbor has a happy Bosc tree near me and I’ve grafted on a stick from hers. Mine hasn’t born yet but is spurring up.
You’re right- they’re good-looking pears.
1 Like
Bosc is my wife’s favorite pear from the grocery store as well but I didn’t think it was quite as sweet as others I tried although it was very good. I need to try a few more.
Its the ‘golden’ pear. Will you poach them in red wine?
No poacher here. I can’t improve on Mother natures work so stick with what she provides.
These are sweeter than the vast majority I’ve gotten from the store in the past. But I’m better now at knowing when these are properly ripe. I may be remembering store bought that weren’t ripe.
I’m not sure how I missed that one. I went through the ARS catalog last year looking for pears which were described as being “Bosc-like” and found a few candidates (Doyenne Gris and Elliot (CPYR 2624)). Bosc is one of my favorite grocery store pears (along with Comice and Concorde), so I’m trying to find something like it that I can grow.
1 Like
I picked some Docteur Desportes at the repository for our Oct fruit tasting this year. Its a good one, the name always stands out for me , makes me think “sports doctor” in a hodgepodge of language.
2 Likes
You know I have to say bosc isn’t one of favorite pears. I prefer the softer more melting types and for a crunchy pear I like Asian pears like hosui. Maybe I haven’t had them at the right stage of ripness. They are really pretty though. The prettiest pear I have ever grown was abate fetel. That was a really great looking pear and really great quality as well.
1 Like
Fruitnut,
I think every fruit grown and harvested in our own back yard with our own labor deserves every ounce of love! The color is very appealing. I bet every bite is just as sweet and satisfying!
Tom
2 Likes
That abate fetel is a beautiful pear wildscaper . I wish it was easier to grow. It’s not overly cold or disease tolerant according to the information I found. Its obtainable http://www.treesofantiquity.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=192. This is the first I heard of that pear and found out scions are available for research https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?id=1198259.
One thing I have noticed is none of the French pears with unusual names have been adopted widely in the US. Fondant des Moulines-Lille is another favorite of mine, but how can that compete with a simple name like Anjou, Bosc, or Comice? Maybe we should literally rename Docteur Desportes to be “Sports Doctor” and perhaps “Moula Lee” for FdML. Then maybe they would catch on 
4 Likes