Quince Trees for Blossom and Fruit
Grow-Your-Own Fruit Tree to Make Quince Jelly and Jam
Quince, a tree fruit, may be first exposed to diners as a cube of quince jelly on a cheeseboard with biscuits in a restaurant. With springy texture and intense sweet fruit flavor, quince jelly masks the natural sourness of the fruit.
Eating quince jelly with cheese or quince jam with cold meats or a croissant is to be treasured. The Portuguese “marmalo” for quince is reported by DG Hessayon in The Fruit Expert (pbi Publications, 1990) as the language origins of the word “marmalade”.
In appearances, jam and jelly made with quince gives few clues to the consumer about how quince grows on trees and what the fruit looks like. A gardener and cook with the right location for fruit trees, with tips on can start to grow her own quinces.
Growing a Quince Tree for Blossom
Quince trees generally blossom in June with flowers in red, pinky or white colors of 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter. Many quince trees have the look of an Oriental plant with dark glossy leaves, gnarled leathery grey bark trunk and contorted branches.
Japanese Quince is a compact flowering shrub and different to the Quince Tree which can bear large fruit.
Growing Tree Fruit Quince
Quince fruit on a tree can form one of two shapes – apple-shaped or pear-shaped. Whatever shape, tree fruit quinces will grow to between five and six inches long. Initially green, quinces hang heavy on the contorted branches of the tree before eventually turning yellow when ripe to pick.
Such a large and golden fruit may tempt a grower to eat straight away. Quinces are challenging to eat raw with a bitter gritty flavour that fails to match the aromatic scent of ripe fruit. Sweetening processes of making jam and jelly with quince rewards the fruit tree gardener.
Tips for Grow-Your-Own Tree Fruit Quinces
Potential growers of true quince fruit trees need to buy trees from well established and respected nurseries and garden centres to avoid disappointment. Drawing upon The Fruit Expert by DG Hessayon (pbi Publication, 1990), when buying a tree to grow their own quinces fruit gardeners should consider:
- Choosing fruit shapes – buying a Champion quince tree for apple-shaped fruit and buying a Vranja and Portugal quince tree for pear-shaped fruit
- Ensuring adequate garden space - most quince trees will grow to around 12 foot in height
- Gardener’s diary – buying a container-grown quince tree for planting out into moist soil throughout the year and open rootstock trees for planting between November and March
- Harvesting fruit – Quinces should be harvested green in October and stored in a dark and cool place for the harvested fruit to change to a golden yellow.
After planting a quince tree, fruit gardening is straightforward. In The Fruit Expert, Dr DG Hessayon writes “During the first few years cut back the main leaders in winter so as to remove about half of the previous year’s growth. Keep the centre of the bush open. Once the mature framework is established, prune as little as possible – simply remove dead or crossing branches in winter.”
Gardeners are invited to buy and plant quince trees for Oriental style, colorful blossoms in June and gathering fruit in the Fall for making quince jelly and quince jam.
