Pears; Bon Chretien

Cultivar;Bon Chretien

Clone Number; unknown

Origin;UK

Royalties/ Levies; not enough data

Yield; medium to high

Fruit use;canning, dessert, drying

Type; oblong-ovate-pyriform

Shelf-life; moderate

Water requirements; roughly 158080 litres per hectare per year

Sun requirements; full sun, 6 to 8 hours at least

Chill hours; over 1000 hours

Pruning; best done at end of winter, remove any branches that are facing downwards, as well as any branches that are at an angle of 60 degrees or more to the trunk. Removing dead/diseased branches as well as those branches that are hogging sunlight/ overcrowding the tree is also recommended. Never remove more than 25% of the tree in any one season.

soil requirements; fertile, loam or sandy soils with pH ranging from 6 to 7 is optimum

Soil depth; at least 50cm

Fertiliser requirements; Nitrogen and Potassium are recommended for good leaf, flower and fruit growth, phosphorous promotes healthy root systems, Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, Boron, and zinc aid in bud and fruit set.

Pollination requirements; pollenizer needed

Successful test-crosses; Beurre Hardy,Beurre Bosc, Josephine de Malines, Doyenne du Comice

Bloom time;October

Harvest time; January

Vigour; strong

Size and shape; semi-upright

Tree age; starts fruiting well in it's 3rd to 6th year

Average life span; can live between 35 to 50 years depending on the rootstock used.

Susceptibility to pests and diseases; normal

General notes; good all-purpose pear. Aka; Bartlett or Williams pear