With its long history, the 'Gute Luise' is one of the old and traditional pear varieties. You can find out here why it is still far from outdated and dusty and should not be missing from any hobby orchard.
The 'Gute Luise' is an integral part of many fruit-growing regions, especially because its good taste makes it perfect for direct consumption. We'll tell you what the fruit tastes like and how you too can enjoy large quantities of pears fresh from the tree in your garden every year.
Good Luise: Profile
| synonyms | 'Good Louise of Avranches', 'Prince of Württemberg', 'Bonne Louise d'Avranches' |
| Fruit | medium to large; greenish-yellow, reddish-brown on the sunny side |
| Flavour | sweet, aromatic and very juicy |
| Yield | almost always very high |
| Harvest time | early September to early October |
| Ready to eat | September to October |
| Storage life | Can be stored for several weeks in the fridge |
| Growth | medium to strong |
| Climate | sunny and warm locations |
| Diseases and Pests | susceptible to scab, somewhat sensitive to wood frost |
Origin and history of the 'Gute Luise' pear variety
The pear variety 'Gute Luise von Avranches' - also called 'Prinz von Württemberg' - has a long history. In 1778 the variety was first discovered by Monsieur de Longueval in France. He dedicated the first name 'Bonne Louise d'Avranches' to his wife Louise. In Germany, the name 'Gute Luise' became the abbreviation for the pear after it spread.
Pear 'Gute Luise': taste and properties
The typical 'Gute Luise' taste is characterized by its sweetness and the very juicy pulp. The pear has very fine cells, which gives the yellowish-white flesh a melting character. The fruit has a textbook pear shape: rather cup-bellied with a waist. Out ofthe white flowers are followed by quite uniform, medium-sized to large and firm fruits with a smooth and shiny, greenish-yellow base colour. On the sunny side, this is covered by a reddish-brown overcoat, often in spots reminiscent of a trout's scales. The calyx is shallow to medium deep with small bumps or folds. A distinct pedicle fossa is usually absent or flattened.
Special features of cultivation and care
The 'Gute Luise' pear tree is characterized by its strong growth when young. Later the tree forms a broad, pyramidal crown. Whether it finds its way into your garden as a high, half or quarter trunk is entirely up to you. The 'Prinz von Württemberg' also cuts a fine figure as a shaped fruit on a trellis.
Various underlays can be used for finishing. Pyrus betulifolia is a vigorous rootstock that is more suitable for large gardens or meadow orchards. The rootstock 'Pyrodwarf®' is another option, a rather slow-growing representative. Quince rootstocks are used most frequently. The standard here is a graft on Quince A (Quince von Angers) with a medium-strong growth that supports a high fruit set and good yield. Since adhesion problems can easily occur here, intermediate grafting with 'Gellert's butter pear', for example, is necessary. The quince C is slower growing and therefore well suited for your own home garden. It should be noted, however, that both rootstocks are sensitive to winter frost.With the right care, you can count on an early and evenly rich harvest. One should only note that the 'Gute Luise' pear tends to produce small fruits if the tree bears too many fruits. Here, thinning out the fruit can ensure that the pears remaining on the tree can be better supplied and continue to grow. When the fruit on the tree is about the size of a hazelnut, you can cut off the damaged and particularly small ones, leaving only 2 to 3 fruit per cluster.
The 'Gute Luise' can be cultivated widely and does not make any special demands on the soil. However, their preferred location is at medium altitudes with very low-lime, deeply moist and warm soil. In addition, a good supply of nutrients is very important if you want to support the development of your tree. A fertilizer that contains the main nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is recommended here -for example our sustainably produced Plantura organic universal fertilizer. This supports flowering and fruit formation through the slow release of nitrogen and can be used for a wide variety of fruit types.
The 'Good Luise' requires cross-pollination for fruiting. Therefore, at the same time, there should be varieties nearby that also bloom from April to May and are considered good pollen donors. The varieties 'Conference', 'Esperens Bergamot', 'Bunte Julibirne', 'Madame Verte' but also some other varieties are possible pollinators for the 'Gute Luise'. These can be up to 300 meters away from the 'Gute Luise' pear tree, but the important thing here is the right wind direction or sufficient pollination by bees or other insects.
The moderately late flowering from April makes this variety less sensitive to late frosts or unfavorable weather. However, wood frost can easily occur. Basically, it is a he althy variety, but it is very susceptible to scab. To prevent moisture build-up, removing the affected leaves and shoots or thinning out the crown of leaves in good time can help prevent this. Ultimately, and if saving the harvest is very important, the use of sprays against scab is also possible. The 'Good Luise' is also susceptible to the viral stone fruit.
To ensure that your 'Gute Luise' bears fruit for a long time and continues to grow well, an annual pruning is important after the crown has been built up. As with most fruit trees, pruning should be done in late winter, between January and March. Here you will find tips and tricks for the pear tree pruning.
Harvest and use good Luise pears
The harvest of the fruits can start as early as the beginning of September, but they are only ready to eat towards the middle or end of September. This is where the Gute Luise pear can unfold its full talent: Because it is an excellent table pear, the 'Gute Luise' makes a wonderful addition to any garden for eating the fruit directly. However, these can still be eaten directly after 3 to 4 weeks of cool storage without any problems. If it is possible to store it a little colder at -1 °C, for example in a small cold store, the pear can end up on the menu until January.
In terms of further use, the 'Gute Luise' pear is a real all-rounder. Whether as juice, cake topping, in fruit salad, for preserving or for drying, it always cuts a fine figure. Do you want more to oneknow the right pollinator variety for the 'Gute Luise' pear? Read more about the popular 'Conference' pear variety.