Onward is an attractive yellow pear, often with an orange flush, and occasionally some russet. The flavour is of high quality and it is a reliable cropper - all in all, an excellent garden pear variety.
Onward was developed from the well-known French variety Doyenne du Comice, usually considered the best-flavoured of all pears, but somewhat fussy in its requirements. The goal was to retain the excellent flavour and texture of Comice but in a tree that was easier to grow in the UK.
**All prices include delivery (except certain fan-trained or espalier-trained trees). We offer a discount on orders of multiple bare-root trees for delivery at the same time - this will be shown at the checkout.
Fan-trained and Espalier trees: Prices of these trees do NOT include delivery as these require special delivery arrangements - click here for details.
Delivery period: Pot-grown trees can be delivered from September onwards. Bare-root trees can be delivered from mid-November onwards. Within those periods you can specify your preferred month of delivery during the checkout process. It is best to order as soon as you can to ensure items are reserved for you.
*Mature heights: Height shown is the approximate height of the tree when mature (after 5-10 years), not the height when supplied. See photos of trees as supplied. Actual mature heights may vary considerably dependent on your local conditions and training and pruning regime.
Stock availability: Items showing as 'sold out' will probably be available again next season. If you would like to reserve in advance use our enquiry form - this does not commit you to anything.
Onward is self-sterile and needs to be pollinated by another tree of a different variety nearby.
Our online pollination checker lists suitable pollination partners for this variety.
More advice about pollination.
Far easier to grow in almost every respect than Doyenne du Comice, crops are reliable and the blossom is usefully resistant to spring frosts.
The main horticultural challenge is that it can be difficult to spot when Onward pears are ripe, so you need to be alert from mid-September onwards in the UK, to make sure you pick the crop at the right time. The pears should be picked when still relatively hard and ripened in a fruit bowl, as they will not ripen correctly on the tree.
Note that contrary to what our pollination notes say, Onward will not reliably pollinate Doyenne du Comice or vice versa - they are too closely related.
Planting instructions.
Pruning instructions.
Developed at the National Fruit Trials at Wisley, in Surrey. 1940s. It is a cross of Doyenne du Comice and an old Laxton's variety called Superb.
