Today in Gardenprue, we give way to the cultivation of fruit trees. Recently we have treated other trees such as the fig tree, the custard apple or the peach tree , and now we have to talk about the quince tree . Its fruits are very characteristic and have a special flavor, slightly bitter. There are those who love it and there are also quite a few people who do not like the taste. So everything is to try and decide. For the moment, we teach you how to cultivate it.

THE GARDEN OF FRUIT TREES, AND OF COURSE, QUINCES

The quince, whose scientific name is Cydonia oblonga, is a fruit tree of the Rosaceae family . This family comprises almost 3,000 species (it is one of the largest families). Many trees that belong to the rosaceae will sound familiar to you, such as the apple tree , the apricot , the cherry , the strawberry , the plum , the almond tree , and a long etcetera.

Speaking of the tree and its characteristics, its size is considered small or medium, since for its cultivation and to facilitate its collection, it does not usually exceed 2-3 meters. Regarding its origin, the quince is native to the Caucasus area , which includes countries such as Turkey or Iran.

As we have mentioned before, the fruit as such is not famous for eating it fresh , but rather they are made with compotes or jams, adding sugar, due to its great bitter and astringent taste. It can also be roasted like the apple (in fact it is closely related to the apple tree and the pear tree) since through this method the sugars are extracted and their bitterness decreases.

And what about its cultivation ? Let us begin.

CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CULTIVATION OF QUINCE

Cydonia oblonga is a fruit tree that is used to temperate climates. This comprises an area where hot and cold winters coexist. Speaking of this and referring to the cold, the quince is resistant to cold, although it is affected (like many other crops) by late frosts . According to the advice of John Seymour in his book The Self-Sufficient Horticulturist , the ideal is that many winter days the temperatures are below 4ºC.

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

Quinces usually thrive in soils with a good amount of sand, although they adapt to any type of soil, even poor ones . It usually requires an acidic pH , although if you have a neutral soil there will be no problem. In alkaline soils there may be chlorosis problems, in which case you must identify it and treat it by restoring the minerals it lacks.

IRRIGATION AND FERTILIZER NEEDS

One of the characteristics that the quince tree offers us is that it is resistant to drought . For this reason we will have to offer spaced and not very abundant irrigations. It is preferable to stay short a. In times of great heat, such as in summer, we must increase the frequency of watering, but always avoiding the accumulation of water so that it puddles and causes root rot.

The same thing happens with the subscriber. The excessive fertilization cause excessive growth impoverish fruit quality and collection. In this case, the application of nitrogen has a great influence, which is responsible for the vegetative growth of the tree. For those organic producers, compost, vermicompost , or animal manure can be incorporated in times when it most requires the nutrients that these compounds can provide, such as after hibernation or during spring, for fruit production.

THE MULTIPLICATION

When it comes to multiplying the quince we can do it in several ways. One of them is through seeds and another can also be through cuttings (vegetative form). Multiplying them by seeds only consists of placing them in the substrate in conditions of controlled temperature and humidity. The only thing that in the future will need grafting with other varieties to make it more productive and for the fruits to taste good.

Regarding the vegetative multiplication , cuttings of about 30 centimeters in length are selected and it is taken to a controlled environment in terms of temperature, humidity and irrigation. A curiosity is that they are usually planted in an inverted and inclined way, because in this way the rooting is improved. In principle we will not need any rooting product.

DO YOU HAVE TO PRUNE?

Pruning becomes important in the quince especially at the beginning, when we have to force it to acquire the desired shape. Later, when the tree is full, it becomes unimportant and very little pruning is done . These are designed to eliminate dead, twisted branches or those that go inside. In the fruit tree pruning book some techniques are shown to give the tree the desired shape.