Quince (Cydonia oblonga) Tree - propogation

Discussion in 'Fruit and Nut Trees' started by dmurchie, Jun 12, 2006.

  1. dmurchie

    dmurchie Member

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    New thread created per suggestion on "Fruiting Quince in Vancouver" thread.

    I had a quince Tree (cydonia oblonga) in Vancouver (Near Van Dusen). I did not know the variety, and I found the nursery quince trees didn't appear to have the same qualities. So I cloned it.

    If you have a particularly good tree of an unknown variety, or want quick fruiting, I would recommend cloning.

    I used a kit to force a 6 foot leader/shoot to start to grow roots while still attached to the tree. (Lee Valley sells kits, + root growth hormone) I was sloppy, and started late, and was still successful.

    2004 Late June - Girdled 6' straight leader and attached cloning kit. (This tree had prolific growth)
    2004 Sept - removed leader from tree and put into a pot, (staked since roots consisted of tumorlike root growth where I had girdled the leader.
    2005 January - Placed pot/tree against south exposed wall.

    2005, the leader grew several small branches. Top 6" of leader died, and was pruned. Tree had two growth periods. (Normal, quince tree grow pre-bloom, then summer/fall growth about 1-2 months later.)

    2006 March - Placed in ground. Extended roots reached about 18" from tree.

    2006, May - flowered.

    If I had let the fruit mature, I would probably have end up with 20 fruits exactly 2 years after I removed the leader from the tree. (I removed all but one fruitlet to encourage the tree to grow a bit more.)

    Once growing my only challenge was earwigs. Earwigs love a baby quince tree, and would easily stunt its growth if not controlled. If earwigs are an issue, wrap trunk with something designed to keep crawling insects down. i.e. Tanglefoot. (Normal fruit-tree sprays aren't usually needed with quince, and don't seem to bother earwigs. Do not use sevin to kill earwigs on quince unless you know what you are doing. (Commerical Sevin sprays warn against use on quince, but do not say why. )
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2006
  2. KarinL

    KarinL Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Thanks for starting the topic up; I meant to do so and got distracted. My own interest was in whether quince seedlings would create fruit-bearing plants, and with a little thought this morning to how one could find this through Google I came up with this page, which suggests that the resulting fruit won't be the most desirable as it suggests using seedlings for rootstock: http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/deciduous-fruits/h413.htm, although this is for commercial production where varieties are important. The phrase I googled was "quince varieties," and it brought up a number of interesting pages.

    Your cloning method, however, would avoid another problem mentioned on the Australian website, namely suckering, as yours is now growing on own roots. Thanks!
     
  3. dmurchie

    dmurchie Member

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    I think my quince tree resembles the variety "champion" or something very similar. (link above says these are hard to root from cuttings) I tried using the cutting method (25cm long) described in the link you provided and was unsuccessful. (I tried with 12 cuttings) All my botanical experiments must stay outside, so the success/failure may be weather related, although I suspect they needed more attention than I provided.

    I interpreted the article's note on suckering via hardwood cuttings propagation as something which may end up applying to my clone, although I haven't seen this yet. It could be that since I started roots on a 6' cutting, rather than a 25cm cutting, its tendencies may be different. I would not be surprised if suckering tendency was also variety related.

    To-date I have been unable to germinate seeds. I usually keep them with apple seeds, and follow the same process, and the apple seeds germinate readily.

    Regarding cloning my indeterminate variety, I observed in Vancouver that the fruit frequently split in October/November due to too much rain, and rarely/never ripened to the point where they were "edible" from the tree as is apparently possible in warmer climates. (Tart fruit better for Jelly. Fruit usually hung onto the tree well into November/December if undisturbed.) Since I now have the tree (at least a small facsimile) in Nanaimo, I can see what a slightly brighter, warmer and drier climate will do to the ripening process, and the quality of the fruit. (aka eliminate splitting, and ripen earlier..) I am hoping to grow/find a variety, or a local micro-climate, which allows for fully ripe fruit. (let me know if you have such a tree =)
     

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