The 'Princess Marianne' pear lives up to its official name with its sweet and sour taste. We will tell you here what the other special features of this variety are.
The 'Prinzessin Marianne' pear is a robust and vigorous variety which, due to its short shelf life, is best eaten fresh from the tree. It is suitable for cultivation on meadow orchards as well as in the home garden, but less so for small spindle trees.
Princess Marianne Pear: Profile
| Synonyms | Marianne, Early Bosc, Calabasse Bosc, Salisbury |
| Fruit | Medium-sized, yellowish-greenish rough skin, cinnamon-colored russeting |
| Flavour | Sweet and sour aroma, juicy |
| Yield | Variable, medium high to high |
| Harvest time | Around mid to late September |
| Maturity for pleasure | September to mid-October |
| Shelf Life | Rather short |
| Growth | Strong at first, fades with age |
| Climate | Also suitable for cool locations |
| Diseases and Pests | Low susceptibility except to ring spot mosaic virus |
Princess Marianne: history and origin
The 'Princess Marianne' pear originated in Belgium or Holland around 1800 and is therefore one of the old varieties. It owes its name to a daughter of the Dutch King Wilhelm I. It has been known in Germany, especially in the north, since the 19th century. This variety is also often referred to as the 'Kaiserkrone' pear, which often leads to confusion with 'Boscs Flaschenpear', which is also called that and looks very similar.
Appearance, taste and properties of the Kaiserkrone pear
The fruit of the 'Princess Marianne' pear is very similar to that of 'Boscs Flaschenbirne'. It is medium sized and bottle shaped. Small fruits are circular. The shape can be slightly constricted towards the stemappearance. The stalk cavity is mostly flat and the long, rather thin stalk appears attached. The skin of the 'Princess Marianne' pear is finely rough, greenish to yellowish and often heavily rusty. In addition to the cinnamon-colored flat rusting, numerous other brown rust spots can be seen on the shell. The flesh is also yellow, sweetish-sour and tenderly melting. The pleasantly spicy taste also clearly distinguishes it from the very sweet 'Boscs Flaschenbirne'. The 'Princess Marianne' also easily forms stone cells, which are noticeable when eating through a grainy pulp.
Tip: The 'Prinzessin Marianne' pear often has a ring-shaped bulge at the base of the stem, which also distinguishes it from 'Boscs Flaschenpear', which also only four to six weeks later is ripe.
Pear 'Princess Marianne': what to look out for when growing and caring for it
The 'Kaiserkrone' pear grows best in a sunny to partially shaded location. It does not make any great demands on its location and is also suitable for higher altitudes of up to 600 meters. The soil should be nice and loose and rich in nutrients. When planting in your own garden, we also recommend using nutrient-rich soil such as our Plantura organic universal soil. This promotes he althy soil life without any peat and is also suitable for fruit trees.
The 'Kaiserkrone' pear is an initially strong and later medium-growing variety. It forms a large, pyramid-shaped crown that can overhang with numerous fruit arches. The variety has a good amount of fruit wood and should only be thinned out a little when pruning for maintenance. In old age, rejuvenation is necessary. As a form for these pears, the high, half and quarter trunk or the bush are suitable. As a base for the variety, quinces are only suitable with intermediate grafting such as 'Gellert's Butter Pear', since the 'Princess Marianne' pear only grows moderately well directly on the quince. Rootstocks of the quince, which are suitable for cultivation as a half-stem, low-stem or bush tree, are the very slow-growing quince C, the somewhat stronger-growing quince Adams or the somewhat stronger quince A.
The flowering period is early to late April and the numerous white flowers attract a variety of pollinators. The 'Princess Marianne' pear is also considered a good source of pollen.
Possible pollinating varieties for the 'Princess Marianne' pear are, for example, 'Clapps Liebling', 'Gellerts Butterbirne', 'Gute Luise' or the 'Küße aus Charneux' variety. The yield is slightly alternating between high and medium-high.
The 'Princess Marianne' pear variety is considered hardy and not susceptible to disease or pests. Locally, however, this can be susceptible to scab. The ‘Princess Marianne’ can also have problems with the ring spot mosaic virus. The wood of this variety is quite frost hardy.
Harvesting and use of the ‘Kaiserkrone’ pear
The 'Princess Marianne' pear is ripe from mid to late September and is therefore ready for harvest. It should be picked shortly before the tree ripens, otherwise the fruit can taste slightly mealy and also start to fall by itself. However, the 'Princess Marianne' pear can only be stored for a good two weeks. If the pear comes from colder areas, three to four weeks are also possible.
The 'Kaiserkrone' pear can be used as table fruit, i.e. for direct consumption or for further processing as a jelly, compote or juice. The pears can also be preserved for a long time if they are preserved.
Learn from us how to plant a pear tree in your own garden from the experts.