QuestionI recently purchased some quince fruits at a local grocery. I assume that they are 'Cydonia Oblonga' for the scientific name. I liked the flavor. I am interested in possibly growing some, so I saved the seeds on a moist paper towel, in a ziploc bag in my refrigerator. I wanted to know what my success would be growing this particular fruit from seed. Upon the reading I have been doing, I get the impression that if I try to grow quince from seed, they will not produce good fruit. Sources seem to disagree. Some say that they can be propagated from seed, others say no. Some say that they will be true to type, others no. Some even claim that it will take over ten years to produce fruit. I do not know what variety of quince I purchased. I realize that I may not get a well known cultivar like 'Orange, Pineapple or Aromatnaya,' but will I get a quince fruit that can be used in the same way that they are ordinarily used? Otherwise, can they be propagated from cuttings if I buy a quince from a nursery?
AnswerHi Michael,
Thanx for your question. You can propagate your quince from the seeds but most probably, the fruit was a product of hybridization. This means that resulting plants grown from the seed will have unreliable qualities. That doesn't mean the fruit will be unacceptable it just means that the resulting fruit will most likely be inferior or the plant will be inferior to the the parent plants because hybrids tend not to be genetically stable. For cuttings, you would have to find an acceptable, hardy rootstock and graft your cutting to that. I am not experienced at grafting. If you want a decent cultivar that is reliable, you should buy one at a local nursery, but there is nothing wrong with trying your luck. Also, I would more predict resulting fruit in about 5 years as opposed to 10 years. I hope this helps. By the way, if the fruit happened to be the result of an open-pollinated variety and there are no other varieties of quince to cross-pollinate, you could use the seeds to get progeny like the parents.
Tom
