How to grow Quince

Where to plant

Plant quince in full sun in deep, fertile soil. It tolerates poorly drained, heavy soil better than most deciduous fruit trees, though it still does best where water does not sit for long. Quince blooms late in spring, which helps it avoid frost damage to the flowers.

Many quince varieties need fairly little winter chill. Smyrna needs about 300 chill hours, and Orange and Pineapple are also low-chill, so quince fruits well in California and much of the South as well as colder areas.

• North Florida, the Gulf South, Texas, the Desert Southwest and California: plant bare-root trees in January or February while dormant. Choose low-chill varieties such as Pineapple, Orange or Smyrna.
• Central and South Florida and Hawaii: not enough winter chill for reliable fruit.
• Mid-South, Mid-Atlantic, Southern Plains and the Pacific Northwest: plant while dormant in late winter or early spring, or in November.
• Northeast, Midwest and Mountain West: plant in spring as soon as the soil can be worked, or in fall. Quince is hardy to about zone 5, so give it a sheltered spot in cold valleys.
• Northern Plains and Alaska: too cold for quince.

Choosing a variety

• Pineapple is the variety UC Cooperative Extension prefers for home gardens: white flesh with a hint of pineapple, golden skin and low chill. It ripens in early October in California.
• Orange has rich, orange-yellow flesh and ripens earlier, in September.
• Smyrna has large fruit and needs only about 300 chill hours.
• Champion and Van Deman are other older varieties. All quinces are self-fruitful, so one tree crops on its own.

How to plant

1. Plant bare-root trees while dormant, at the depth they grew in the nursery.
2. Water in well and keep the soil moist through the first summers.
3. Mulch a wide circle around the trunk and keep it free of weeds and grass.
4. Train young trees to an open vase shape, as you would an apple.

Watering and feeding

Water young trees regularly through their first few summers, and give mature trees a deep watering in long dry spells while the fruit swells.

Feed lightly. Quince is very prone to fire blight, which attacks soft, fast new growth, so extension advice is to use only light nitrogen fertilizer and avoid pushing lush shoots.

Pruning and care through the year

• Once the tree is shaped, it needs little pruning beyond removing suckers, dead wood and crossing branches.
• Quince flowers form at the tips of new shoots, so do not shorten every branch each winter.
• Cut out any fire blight strikes well below the damage in dry weather, and clean pruners between cuts.

Harvesting

Leave quinces on the tree until the skin turns from green to deep golden yellow and the fruit smells strongly fragrant, usually in September or October. Rub off any gray fuzz. Handle them gently, as they bruise easily even though they feel hard.

Raw quince is bitter and acidic. It sweetens when cooked, especially poached, baked or made into jelly and quince paste. Ripe fruit keeps for a few weeks in a cool place and perfumes a room.

Using it

Poach quince slowly with sugar until it turns pink, bake it with meat, or cook it down into jelly and quince paste. Quince is also used to add aroma and a pleasant bitterness to hard cider.

Propagation and saving seed

Quince is usually sold grafted. It is also widely used as a dwarfing rootstock for pears such as Comice, though it is not compatible with Bartlett or Bosc.