Tree · Rosaceae
Quince
Cydonia oblonga
Slow to grow and sharp off the branch, quince pays off big with fragrant golden fruit that transforms the moment it hits the pot.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 5–8
10–15 ft · 3–4.6 m
Overview
Quince is a fruit tree with deep roots in history, grown for centuries before apples and pears crowded the orchard. It stays refreshingly compact, rarely shooting past 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 m), and it puts on a real show, dressing itself in soft pink blossoms every late spring. Come fall it loads up with golden pomes whose scent races through a whole room.
Grow quince for the kitchen and it rewards you every time. The raw fruit fights back with hard, astringent flesh, but cook it and watch it turn sweet and a stunning deep rose. That high pectin makes it a powerhouse for jelly and the Spanish paste called membrillo, and it runs in the rose family, Rosaceae, right beside apples, pears, and plums.
Quince asks for patience, and it earns every bit of it. The tree settles in at its own slow pace and comes with one big catch: it is extremely prone to fire blight. Hand it full sun, sharp drainage, and moving air, prune it with purpose, and one tree keeps the kitchen stocked with jelly for years on end.
Care
The short version: plant quince in full sun and free-draining soil, water deeply as it roots in and as the fruit swells, prune to an open shape in late winter, and stay on top of fire blight from the very first bloom.
Light
Quince cranks out its best crop in full sun, where a long day of light drives sweetness and ripens the fruit. It will tough out a little partial shade, but expect it to give back fewer fruit and softer flavor there.
Water
Soak the tree deeply while it establishes, then again as the fruit fills out, roughly every 7 to 14 days, and read the weather as you go. Let the top half of the soil dry between drinks. A mature tree powers through a short dry spell, but steady moisture delivers the finest fruit.
Soil
Plant quince in fertile, free-draining loam on the acidic side, around a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. It adapts to a wide range of soils and keeps right on growing, as long as its roots never sit in standing water.
Temperature
This tree takes a beating from the weather and keeps going, handling winters down to -20°F (-29°C) and summer heat up to 95°F (35°C). That temperate winter chill is no obstacle either; it actually primes the tree to bloom and fruit.
Humidity
Average outdoor humidity, in the 40% to 70% range, keeps quince perfectly happy. Air moving through the canopy counts for far more, since still, damp air is what fuels the fungal diseases the tree tends to attract.
Feeding
Feed quince once a year with a balanced fertilizer or a load of compost in early spring, and it will thank you. Rein in the nitrogen, though, because a burst of soft new growth is exactly the fuel fire blight thrives on.
Pruning
Prune in late winter while the tree is dormant and open it into a vase-like shape that pulls light and air right into the center. Rip out suckers, crossing branches, and dead wood, and chase down any fire-blight damage by cutting well below the canker, wiping your tools clean between cuts.
Repotting
Quince belongs out in open ground and rarely needs repotting. Plant it once in a permanent, roomy spot, and it digs in and stays for the long haul.
Size & spacing
A mature quince climbs to about 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 m) tall and throws its branches out 9 to 12 feet (2.7 to 3.7 m) wide. Hand it that full footprint of open space so light and air reach every last branch.
When to plant
Quince powers through cold winters and thrives in zones 5 to 8, and it wants planting while dormant. Get bare-root or container trees into the ground in early spring, or in fall where winters run mild. The blossoms burst open in late spring, and the fruit ripens right through fall, ready to pick around October before the first hard frost.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Plant bare-root or container trees in early spring while dormant, or in fall in mild-winter regions.
- Harvest: Blooms late spring (April to May); fragrant golden pome fruit ripens in fall (about October) and is harvested before the first hard frost.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–8
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Nearly every quince problem comes down to a fungus or bacteria, and the great news is that airflow, sanitation, and timely pruning knock out most of them. Fire blight is the heavy hitter that can take a whole tree, so nail down its signs first. Find your symptom below, then move fast before it spreads.
Blossoms and shoot tips blacken and hook right over
Meet fire blight head-on, because quince ranks among the most prone trees you can grow. The bacteria charge into open flowers and soft new shoots during warm, wet spring weather, blackening the tips until they bend into a shepherd's crook. Cut hard, well below the damage, 20 to 30 cm under any visible canker, sterilize your tools between cuts, and pull back on nitrogen so the tree stops serving up the soft growth the bacteria crave.
Fix:
- Prune out blackened, shepherd's-crook shoots 20 to 30 cm below visible cankers, disinfect tools, avoid excess nitrogen, and consider bloom-time bactericide sprays.
Crusty, warped patches erupt on the developing fruit
Quince rust plays a two-host game, ping-ponging between quince and nearby junipers or cedars to finish its life cycle. Its spores ride in on the wind at bloom and warp the fruit. Yank out alternate juniper hosts within range wherever you can, and guard the tree with a fungicide right through flowering.
Fix:
- Remove nearby alternate juniper hosts where practical and apply protective fungicides during bloom.
Dark spots erupt on the leaves, then leaves drop early
Leaf blight kicks off in wet weather, splashing the leaves with dark spots and stripping them off before fall. Rake up and destroy every fallen leaf so spores cannot overwinter at the base, open the canopy to get air moving, and reach for a fungicide only when the tree is dropping leaves fast.
Fix:
- Rake and destroy fallen leaves, improve air circulation, and apply fungicides if defoliation is severe.
A white, dusty film creeps over the leaves
Powdery mildew rolls in as a white, dusty coating when the air turns humid and stops moving, and it seldom does any real damage. Prune to send air rushing through the canopy, and treat with a fungicide only if it spreads across much of the tree.
Fix:
- Prune for airflow and treat with fungicide if widespread.
Toxicity
Cooked quince flesh is safe and delicious, and it is the star of every jar of jelly and slab of membrillo. The seeds are the one thing to respect, packing cyanogenic compounds just like the pips of apples, cherries, and other rose-family fruit. Whole seeds sail through harmlessly, but chewed in bulk they can release cyanide, so keep cores away from pets and grazing animals and skip the pips.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
The flesh raises no real worry, and a cat that nibbles a windfall walks away fine. Keep your focus on the seeds, since chewed pips can release cyanide and set off drooling, brick-red gums, and labored breathing if a cat swallows a good number.
Dogs Mild
A dog has to crunch through a serious pile of seeds to run into trouble, since whole pips usually sail straight through. Watch for drooling, dilated pupils, or heavier breathing after a dog chews into the cores, and keep fallen fruit scooped up.
Horses Mild
Windfall quince in a pasture is the real flashpoint, since horses can bolt whole fruit and grind the seeds as they chew. Large amounts of crushed seed can trigger weakness, rapid breathing, and red gums, so clear dropped fruit off grazing ground fast.
Rabbits Mild
Keep cores and seeds well out of reach, since the cyanogenic pips have no business in a rabbit's diet. A small taste of the flesh, cooked or raw, does no harm, but the seeds carry the risk.
Livestock Mild
Goats, sheep, and cattle tear through fallen fruit and the seeds packed inside, and that is exactly where the cyanide hides. Scoop up windfalls near grazing areas so they cannot gorge on a pile of seed.
Birds Mild
Backyard hens and other birds peck the soft flesh without any trouble. The seeds are the part to keep clear, so never toss cores or split fruit into the run.
People Cooked fruit safe
Cooked quince is a kitchen triumph, turning sweet and pink in jelly and membrillo with nothing to fear. Just leave the seeds out, and teach children to spit out the hard pips rather than chew them.
Keep seeds and cores away from pets and children; the hard astringent flesh is eaten cooked, and jelly or membrillo made from the flesh is safe.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Only a handful of quince varieties make it into home orchards, and most win their spot on cooking quality rather than fresh eating. These are the names to chase down.
Pineapple
This California standout brings tender flesh and a bright hint of pineapple, which makes it a knockout for cooking.
Smyrna
It hauls in large, powerfully fragrant fruit that cooks down beautifully.
Orange
Sold at times as Apple quince, this old workhorse pumps out round orange-yellow fruit that cooks have turned into jelly for ages.
Champion
It rolls in late with large, pear-shaped fruit and a more delicate flavor than most.
How to propagate
Seed is a dead end here, since quince seedlings refuse to come true to the parent. Reach for the vegetative methods below instead, each one cloning a tree you already love.
GraftingModerate
Bud or graft named quince varieties onto rootstock instead of sowing seed, and they hold true to type every time. Quince flips the script in the orchard too, working as a favorite dwarfing rootstock for pears.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Grab hardwood cuttings off the dormant tree in winter, and they root with moderate effort and shoot up into copies of the parent.
LayeringModerate
Pin a low stem to the ground to root while it stays attached, or stool the plant to raise a flush of shoots at once. Nurseries have leaned on this old trick for ages to bulk up quince rootstock.
Myths
Quince and flowering quince are the same plant.
Not a chance, they just happen to share a name. True quince is the small Cydonia oblonga tree grown for its big, fragrant golden fruit, while flowering quince is a whole separate ornamental shrub, Chaenomeles, planted for its showy spring blooms and small hard fruit. One drives the kitchen, the other lights up the border.
Quince can be eaten raw off the tree like an apple.
Bite into raw quince and it bites back, hard, sour, and mouth-puckering. Cooking flips it completely, unlocking sweetness and a deep pink color, and its high pectin is exactly why jelly and membrillo set up so well.