Quince
Cydonia oblonga
A small self-fertile tree that asks for almost nothing and produces fruit no shop sells. Quinces are inedible raw and become something remarkable when cooked, which is the whole argument for growing one: there is no way to buy the experience. It is also among the least demanding fruit trees in this catalogue — one tree, no pollination partner, little pruning.
- Position
- Full sun
- Water
- moderate demand
- Drainage
- Moisture-retentive
- Grows to
- 300–450 cm × 300–400 cm
- Hardiness
- H6
- Harvest
- October and November
- Difficulty
- Straightforward
Described view
Large golden downy quince fruits hanging on a small tree with broad oval leaves in autumn
August
Nothing to do
No sowing, planting, harvesting or pruning window falls in August.
Quince’s year
Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.
| Activity | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | January. | February. | March. | November. | December. | |||||||
| In flower | May. | |||||||||||
| Harvest | October. | November. | ||||||||||
| Prune | January. | February. | December. | |||||||||
| Dormant | January. | December. |
Names that cause confusion
flowering quince — Chaenomeles, an ornamental shrub grown for its spring flowers. It produces small hard fruits that are edible cooked but is a different genus and grown for different reasons.
Timing that travels
The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.
Pollination
Whether one plant on its own will set fruit, and what has to be true if it will not.
One plant on its own will crop.
- Self-fertility
- Self-fertile
- Partner needed
- No partner needed
- Pollen moved by
- Insects
Where the pollination figures come from
- Self-fertilitySourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
- Partner neededSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
- Pollen moved byHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Self-fertile, so a single tree crops. This is unusual among tree fruit and is one of the reasons a quince suits a small garden.
Pruning and training
Every piece of fruit pruning advice follows from one fact: where the plant carries next year's crop.
Fruits on: Tips of last year's shoots
Fruit forms at the ends of shoots made last season. Shortening every shoot — the standard advice for spur-bearers — removes the crop, so these are pruned much more lightly.
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
Quinces flower and fruit at the tips of the current season's shoots, which is why they need very little pruning and why hard shortening removes the crop.
- Royal Horticultural Society: Quince pruning
Checked 2026-08-13
Forms it can be grown as
- Bush
- Half-standard
- Open bush
source
Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Annual maintenanceDecember, January, February
Keep the centre of a naturally rather twiggy tree open, and no more than that — quinces fruit at the shoot tips and respond badly to routine shortening.
Remove dead, crossing and congested wood while dormant. Beyond that, leave it alone: the shoots you would shorten are the ones carrying next year's flowers.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Quince pruning
Checked 2026-08-13
What you are committing to
Fruit is a multi-year decision. These are the numbers a nursery label rarely carries.
- First worthwhile crop
- 4–5 yearsHorticultural consensusDepends on conditions
- Propagated by
- Grafting or budding, Hardwood cuttings, Layering
- Fruit type
- Pome fruit
Where these figures come from
- First worthwhile cropHorticultural consensusDepends on conditionslow confidence
Applies when: GrowingHQ has not found a well-sourced figure; this is a general expectation for a small grafted tree.
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Propagated byHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
Nobody sells quinces, and one tree produces more than a household can use. It is the clearest case in this catalogue of growing something because buying it is not an option.
Conditions it needs
- Light
- Full sun
- Direct sun
- 6 hours a day or more
- Frost
- Very hardy
- Hardiness rating
- H6 (RHS)
- Soil
- Loam, Clay, Silt
- Soil pH
- 6–7
- Drainage
- Moisture-retentive
- Water needs
- moderate
- Drought
- moderate tolerance
- Waterlogging
- moderate tolerance
- Heat
- good tolerance
- Wind and exposure
- moderate tolerance
Where these figures come from
- LightSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
- Direct sunHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Quince — hardiness
Checked 2026-08-13
- Hardiness ratingSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings
Checked 2026-08-13
- SoilHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Soil pHHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- DrainageHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- WaterloggingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
More tolerant of a damp site than most tree fruit — traditionally planted near ponds.
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
- HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
On your soil
Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.
| Soil | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy clay | Prefers this soil | Heavy clay suits Quince as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7, and this soil is in that range. Clay is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. There is ample rooting depth for it. |
| Sandy | Grows well here | Quince grows perfectly well on sandy without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Chalky and alkaline | Struggles here | Quince struggles on chalky and alkaline: The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 6 to 7, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5. It roots to about 50 cm and this soil offers roughly 40 cm before rock or hardpan. A container or a raised bed of imported soil sidesteps the problem entirely. |
| Loam | Prefers this soil | Loam suits Quince as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7, and this soil is in that range. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. There is ample rooting depth for it. |
| Silty | Prefers this soil | Silty suits Quince as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7, and this soil is in that range. Silt is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. There is ample rooting depth for it. |
| Peaty and acid | Grows well here | Quince grows perfectly well on peaty and acid without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Shallow over rock | Works, with one condition | Quince will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It roots to about 50 cm and this soil offers roughly 25 cm before rock or hardpan.Grow it in a deep container or a raised bed. The rooting depth is not something that can be added to the ground. |
| Made ground and urban soil | Works, with one condition | Quince will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It roots to about 50 cm and this soil offers roughly 30 cm before rock or hardpan.Grow it in a deep container or a raised bed. The rooting depth is not something that can be added to the ground. |
Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.
Space and spacing
- Mature height
- 300–450 cm
- Mature spread
- 300–400 cm
- Rooting depth
- 50–80 cm
- Spacing
- 400 cm apart
Where these figures come from
- Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
- Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- SpacingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Where and how you can grow it
Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.
| Method | Suitability | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Open ground | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancehigh confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | A sunny sheltered position |
| Traditional dug bed | WorkablesourceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Hydroponics | MarginalsourceGrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence Root volume and chilling, on a tree grown for a fruit that then needs storing before it is usable.
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Greenhouse | MarginalsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Polytunnel | MarginalsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Container | Not assessedInsufficient evidenceconfidence unknownNot assessed by GrowingHQ. No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Windowsill | Not suitablesourceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 |
Growing it
- HarvestingLeave the fruit on the tree as long as the weather allows — it should be picked before hard frost but develops its aroma late. It is ripe when strongly scented and pale gold rather than green.
- MulchingMulch in spring. Quinces are shallow-rooted and appreciate a moist root run.
Where this guidance comes from
- HarvestingSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
- MulchingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
Is it worth putting under cover?
Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.
| Structure | What protection is worth | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse | Worse under coversourceGrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.
Checked 2026-08-13 | Ultimate size and winter chill. A quince makes a small tree and needs its cold. |
| Polytunnel | Worse under coversourceGrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.
Checked 2026-08-13 | Ultimate size and winter chill. |
Growing it without soil
Nearly anything can be grown in a soilless system by somebody with enough equipment. The useful question is whether it is worth it, in which technique, and what goes wrong.
It can be made to grow, but a soilless system is the wrong tool — usually because of rooting volume, running cost, or a result no better than a pot of compost.
source
GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence
Root volume and chilling, on a tree grown for a fruit that then needs storing before it is usable.
- GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ
Checked 2026-08-13
The fruit is inedible raw and needs cooking or storing, so the reward is delayed as well as small.
Techniques that suit it
- Drip-fed mediumSolution is dripped into an inert medium around each plant. The most forgiving technique and the one that suits large, long-season, heavy crops.
Horticultural consensusDepends on conditionsmoderate confidence
Applies when: Substrate only.
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Root space
- Very large, permanently.
- pH band
- 5.5–6.5
Where these figures come from
- Root spaceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- pH bandSourced guidancehigh confidence
Outside roughly this band, individual nutrients become unavailable even when they are present in the solution — which is why a crop can starve in a full reservoir.
- Purdue Extension — Purdue University: Hydroponic solution management — pH
Checked 2026-08-13
No nutrient recipes here
GrowingHQ records pH bands, which are measurable properties of nutrient availability, and deliberately records no EC or PPM targets and no mixing instructions. Published targets vary by cultivar, growth stage, water source and technique, and the figures that apply to your system are on the product you bought.
Harvesting
- When it is readyRipe when the fruit turns from green to gold and the scent fills a room. It remains rock hard — softness is not the test.
- How to pick itCut or twist from the spur, handling gently: quinces bruise and the bruises rot.
- Keeping itWeeks in a cool place, stored away from other produce because of the scent.
Where the harvest guidance comes from
- When it is readyHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
- How to pick itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Keeping itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
What goes wrong
| Problem | How often | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Brown rot | occasionalsourceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Apple and pear scab | occasionalsourceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 | Quince suffers a related scab that disfigures the fruit without usually spoiling it for cooking. |
Grown with, grown after, grown instead
Every relationship states its mechanism. A pairing nobody can explain is a pairing nobody has checked, and it does not go in.
- Closely relatedPearQuince is the rootstock used for pears, and the two are closely enough related to graft together — though not all pear cultivars are compatible without an interstem.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Pear rootstocks
Checked 2026-08-13
Safety and edibility
- PreparationQuinces are not eaten raw — the flesh is hard, astringent and unpleasant rather than harmful. They are cooked, which transforms both texture and colour.
source
Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing quinces
Checked 2026-08-13
Cook them. Raw quince is a disappointment rather than a danger.
Sources for this page
Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board · GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Royal Horticultural Society
Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-13.