How and When to Harvest Quince
The quince may have been the actual “golden apple” of ancient texts, including those featured in Greek mythology and even, as some historians say, in the Bible. Growing a quince tree gives you the lovely ornamental look and fragrance of this apple relative, plus the reward of an autumn fruit with a tropical taste. Garden expert Benita Lee shows you how to harvest these now-rare treats.
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A member of the Rosaceae family, quince—like its cousins the apple and the rose—bears a sweet fragrance from its flowers and fruit. Known as Cydonia oblonga in Latin, it comes in a deciduous shrub or tree form. Its golden-yellow pome, or fruit, is similar in shape to a cross between an apple and a pear. The pome grows to about 3 inches in diameter. They are powerhouses of nutrition, with health benefits that include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-ulcerative properties.
If you have never tasted quince (or heard of it), you are not alone. Once a favorite of ancient Greeks, Romans, and Middle-Age-era nobles, the quince may have lost popular appeal because most varieties taste bitter and astringent just off the tree. It’s also not an easy keeper, which gives groceries even less incentive to carry it in their produce sections. While there are some fresh-eating varieties, those are not widely available in the United States.
Naturally high in pectin, its magic shines once baked, boiled, or stewed. Sugar is usually added to offset its sourness. Quince makes a delightful, sunset-colored, sliceable fruit gel, jelly, jam, marmalade, baked dessert, liqueur, or cider. It is often missing from produce aisles because it bruises easily. However, this makes it an exciting addition to the home garden, as an exotic fruit can be just a few steps from the kitchen.
Here, we will take you through the simple steps of harvesting and storing this lovely fruit so that you can create wonderful culinary treats to share with family and friends.
When To Harvest
Depending on your hardiness zone, C. oblonga is ready to pick from late summer through mid-fall, when its color shifts from deep green to a lighter green. This is to avoid losing fruit that drops and blemishes on the ground when ripe.
If picked early, the fruit continues to ripen off the tree at about room temperature (68°F or 20°C). However, some experts suggest harvesting quince when it’s golden yellow, but still firm. Either way, it’s important to harvest quince before the first frost to avoid damage to the fruit tissue and potential rot.
If harvested fully ripe, the pomes last in storage for 2 or 3 months at 0°C or 32°F in a high-humidity environment.
Picking and Storing
Rather than plucking quince off the tree, use a sharp knife or small pruner to harvest the fruit. Cut by its stem while holding it gently with your other hand. This will help prevent bruising and discoloration.
The next step is to properly store the fruit as it ripens, and this is where this species gets particularly fussy.
Place pomes at least an inch apart in slatted wood or cardboard trays. They should not touch one another or be wrapped. Set the trays in a cool, dark place, such as a cellar or basement. Do not place them near other fruits — their intense fragrance, lovely as many noses find it to be, can infuse itself into its neighbors.
The ripening process occurs between six and eight weeks after harvest. Over this period, green pomes will turn a golden yellow.
Preparing for Cooking
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the yellow skin and set aside. Pectin is packed in these valuable peels, so use them for making membrillo (Spanish quince paste), jelly, jam, or marmalade.
Next, take a small slice off the bottom of the pome to make its base steady for paring. Cut downward on each of the four sides alongside the core. Like the peels, you can also save the cores — seeds and all — for their pectin.
Digging Deeper: Successfully Growing and Harvesting Quince
Ensure abundant harvests with these facts and tips.
A Little History
This tree has a rich history, originating in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and northern Iran and eventually spreading to Western Europe and America. Around 77 CE, Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder described its fruit as being “held in high esteem.” He noted its numerous varieties and how they were hung in “the antechambers of great men,” presumably to store them while also using their “exquisite smell” as an air freshener.
Hundreds of years later, quince was trendy in early American gardens, warranting a mention in President George Washington’s diary and in President Thomas Jefferson’s notes on plants grown at his famous Virginia estate, Monticello. In an 1896 book titled, Quince Culture, author William Witler Meech sang the pome’s praises, detailed its cultivation techniques, and cataloged its many-legged enemies over 176 fact-jammed pages. Meech even suggested that quince had been the biblical “forbidden fruit” that had tempted Eve.
The early 2000s saw only 250 acres grown in the U.S. for its fruit, and mainly in California. Perhaps surprisingly, this species is mostly raised as a rootstock for grafted pear trees. In France, cuttings have been taken for this purpose since before 1500.
Growth Habits
Most quinces are self-fertile, meaning they don’t require another tree to pollinate and produce fruit for you to harvest. They also live for over 50 years. They are quite hardy, tolerating a large range of soils and climates. In the continental U.S., quince grows from USDA zones 5-9 and sometimes as low as zone 4. It’s a fairly compact tree for the home garden, growing to a height of 15’ with a 15’ canopy.
C. oblonga likes full sun but needs shelter from the wind. While quince can take a little dampness, it’s happiest in hot, dry climates and acid soils. In higher pH (more alkaline) soils, quince trees do not grow as well. Too much fertilization is not good either, as this can attract harmful bacterial growth.
The flowers resemble those of the apple, with white to pale-pink petals that are similarly ornamental and sweet-scented. They bloom in mid-to-late spring. While the pomes are developing, they’re covered in a light fuzz that sheds by the time the fruit is fully ripe.
In its early stages, a sapling needs active pruning, especially to deter suckers from growing wildly from the trunk’s base. Taming these will keep your tree from becoming an unwieldy bramble. A single trunk and open crown is the goal here, as this creates better airflow and light distribution for fruit growth, and proper pruning deters pests and diseases. Keeping everything tidy over time will also showcase the interesting gnarled features this distinguished tree develops as it ages.
Close Kin
While the name “Cydonia” refers to a quince genus originating in Crete, Greece, there is an Asian quince relative in the genus Pseudocydonia, which means “false Cydonia.” Pseudocydonia sinensis, or Chinese quince, does bear an aromatic and edible yellow pome fruit like its close kin. However, Chinese quince is perhaps best known in the United States for its ornamental features. P. sinensis has cheerful, pink flowers that appear in spring, leathery leaves that turn a red-orange color in fall, and bark that peels to reveal a patchwork of colors in green, brown, orange, and gray tones.
Other quince-like species include Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) and two common flowering quince in this genus, C. speciosa and C. lagenaria. These shrubs are typically used as spring-flowering ornamentals. Their fruit is considered inedible, but it’s sometimes used as a jelling agent because of the high pectin content.
Pesky Pests and Diseases
Unfortunately, quince has a lot of natural enemies that can love it to death or at the very least, destroy its fruit. Environments with warm, humid summers can be part of the problem, especially when it comes to fire blight, a bacterial infection that blackens and shrivels fruit. Rust, brown rot, leaf blight, and powdery mildew — all fungal diseases — can also be a challenge. The best prevention for these problems is to avoid excess nitrogen and to set trees in areas where they’ll be drier rather than constantly damp.
Insect pests include borers, the codling moth, and tent caterpillars. The best protection is to keep the tree healthy by pruning, mulching, and watering since a weakened tree is more susceptible to attack.
For the codling moth, which burrows into fruit as a newly hatched larva, some growers use a natural enemy to attack it early. Tiny Trichogramma wasps are parasitic to several different moth eggs and can be ordered for release during flower-blooming season.
Home gardeners should instead plant insectary plants near their quince, like coneflower, fennel, lavender, sunflower, and more. Fruit thinning is another preventative since the point where two pomes touch can be an entryway for larvae. Capturing adult moths before they lay eggs using pheromone traps is another way to stop an infestation.
For your entire garden, another way to keep insects under control is to attract natural predators like birds. Woodpeckers and songbirds such as chickadees and nuthatches help keep insect populations in check. Host these helpers with a bird bath, birdhouses, and native berry shrubs to encourage them to feast on young pests before harmful insects become destructive to your tree.
Popular Varieties
There are dozens of varieties of C. oblonga, but only a small group of cultivars are available in the U.S. through nurseries. Here are some of the cultivars you’re most likely to see stocked by fruit tree growers:
- ‘Pineapple’ – as its name suggests, this variety has a slightly tropical, pineapple flavor. Developed in California in 1899, it has been successfully grown in the San Joaquin Valley for over a hundred years.
- ‘Van Deman’ – another California variety, this quince won a medal following its introduction in the late 1800s. A hardy tree with high yields, its fruit’s flavor is described as spicy.
- ‘Havran’ – tasty enough for fresh eating and durable, this one is not like the others. Also disease-resistant, the heritage, Russian variety was rediscovered by Turkish researchers.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age does a quince tree bear fruit
This self-fertile tree produces fruit about 2-3 years after planting a 2-year-old sapling.
Can I grow quince from seed?
Quince can be grown from seed, but it will be different from its parent. Growers usually take hardwood cuttings and graft them onto a quince rootstock.
Will quince grow in a container?
Yes! Quince can be potted in a well-draining soil mix in a container that’s at least 24” in diameter and depth. Set in full sun and in a wind-sheltered spot, such as against a wall. As it grows, it will need to be repotted into a larger container to give its roots plenty of room.
