Quince trees
Champion quince tree
Champion is a round / pear-shaped quince, with a yellow-green colour.Meech's Prolific quince tree
Meech's Prolific is a popular quince variety from the USA, fragrant fruit and attractive blossom.Portugal quince tree
Portugal is perhaps the best-flavoured of all Quinces, but prefers a warm dry climate.Serbian Gold quince tree
Serbian Gold is probably the best quince variety for the UK climate.Vranja quince tree
A popular traditional Quince variety, well-suited to the southern UK.More about Quince trees
Quince trees produce are versatile pear-like fruits used for culinary purposes - use them in the same way you would apples or pears. They are particularly good for preserves, and a small amount of stewed quince also gives an interesting lift to many apple-based recipes. The blossom and fruits are very attractive.
The quince originates from south-west Asia, but has been widely grown throughout Europe since classical times, and were introduced to England from France in the 13th century or earlier. The English word "quince" derives from the French word "cognassier". Quinces were widely-grown in the American colonies, and many of today's quince varieties are American. Quince trees prefer warm climates, and are well-suited to the southern and central UK, central Europe, and much of the USA, but some quince varieties are adapted to cooler areas.
Quince trees are usually grown as open-centred bush-style trees, a form which best suits the attractively contorted way in which they tend to grow. They can also be trained as fans (not espaliers) against south-facing walls or fences. Quince trees are generally slow-growing but very long-lived - and the trees become more attractive as they age. The first fruits are borne after 3-5 years.
All our quince trees are grafted on Quince A (semi-vigorous) or Quince C (semi-dwarf) rootstocks. Quinces are clearly related to pears but they produce smaller and more spreading trees than pears, and for this reason pears are usually grafted on to quince rootstocks to produce trees of more manageable proportions.
Quince trees benefit from a general purpose plant food in late winter, and young trees in particular should have a good layer of mulch to suppress weeds and keep the roots moist - they like slightly damp conditions for their roots. If you can provide a sunny sheltered spot with moist soil you should be successful. Quinces are relatively easy to grow, as they are nearly all self-fertile, and need minimal pruning.
Quinces should stored in a cool place after picking (preferably with natural light, it does not need to be dark), to allow the fruit to mature and the fragrant flavour to develop - they can be used after a month or so. It is best to store them away from other fruits unless you want them also to pick up the fragrance of the quinces.