Sensation Pear Trees

• Variety: Sensation, the red Williams
• Latin name: Pyrus communis 'Red Sensation Bartlett', sold as Sensation
• Fruit: Red-flushed, with almost more juice than flesh
• Harvest: August, picked hard; pears ripen off the tree
• Use: Eating and cooking
• Pollination: Group C, needs a partner in a neighbouring group (but not Williams Bon Chretien)
• Rootstock: Quince A (semi-vigorous)
• Mature size: 3–4m; naturally narrow and upright
• Position: Full sun
• Soil: Rich, moisture-holding but well-drained
• Sold as: Bareroot Maiden, Bush or Half-Standard, plus a 10L potted bush
• Delivered: Bareroot November–April; potted per availability. Collection from Castle Cary also available

All the sublime juice and flavour of Williams on a naturally narrow tree, with red-tinted spring leaves and fruit ready in August, ahead of almost everything else.

Sensation Pears: The Red Williams

Sensation is a red-flushed August dessert and cooking pear, a natural sport of Williams Bon Chretien with the same sublime, juice-heavy flesh and a flavour to match pretty much any pear going. It crops a little earlier than its parent, opening the pear season while summer is still in full swing. Even the young spring leaves carry a reddish tint, so the tree earns its keep before the fruit arrives.

The habit is naturally narrow and upright, which makes Sensation a sound choice where a full-spread tree would not fit, and a very good cordon against a wall. On Quince A roots it stays at a manageable 3–4m.

Sensation: An Australian Sport of Williams

Sensation was discovered in Australia in 1940 as a natural variation, or sport, of Williams Bon Chretien, the most widely grown pear on earth. It is the same pear in nearly every way that matters, wearing red.

Pollination Partners for Sensation

Sensation sits in pollination group C and needs a second pear in the same or a neighbouring group. Being a sport of Williams, it will not cross with Williams itself: the two are too closely related, however well their flowering overlaps. Dependable partners from our range are Conference and Doyenné du Comice, and our guide to pollinating pear trees has the full picture. For the rest of the range, browse our pear trees.

Why Buy Your Sensation from Us?

Grown for us in open ground by specialist fruit growers and lifted the week it travels. Maidens are pre-pruned to order for bush, espalier or half-standard, so the first shaping cut is already made. We have grown and sold plants since 1949, by mail order since 2003, and real people answer the phone in Somerset.

Frequently Asked Questions

What pollinates Sensation?

Any pear in the same or a neighbouring pollination group except Williams Bon Chretien, its parent, which cannot cross with it. Conference and Comice are both dependable partners that we sell.

Is Sensation the same as Williams?

Sensation is a natural red sport of Williams: genetically the same pear apart from its colouring, with the same juicy flesh, cropping slightly earlier. The close relationship is also why the two cannot pollinate each other.

When do I pick Sensation pears?

Pick in August while the fruit is still firm, when it lifts cleanly from the spur. Ripen the pears indoors over the following days; left to soften on the tree they lose the fine texture that makes them special.

Can I grow Sensation in a small garden?

Yes, it is one of the better pears for tight spaces. The naturally narrow, upright habit takes up less room than most, and as a spur-bearer it trains readily as a cordon against a wall or fence.

Do pears ripen on the tree?

Not well. Pears are picked hard and ripened indoors: tree-ripened fruit turns gritty at the core. Pick Sensation firm in August and finish it in the fruit bowl, where it reaches perfection in a few days.