Cydonia oblonga
(Quince)
Family - Rosaceae
Category - Tree
Origin - Southwest Asia
Year of Introduction - 1573
Season of Interest - Spring, Autumn
Hardiness - H5
Height - up to 5m
Width - up to 5m
Location - The Pond Garden
Description: A small, Deciduous tree with a rounded habit and attractive, brown peeling bark. The dense branches are clothed in mid to dark green leaves. Pale pink to white bowl-shaped flowers are produced in late spring. Golden yellow pear-shaped fruits ripen in autumn and are edible when cooked, often used for making jelly. The foliage turns an attractive shade of yellow before falling.
Named after Cydon (now Khania) in Crete.
Synonym - Cydonia vulgaris
Flower:
White, bowl-shaped flowers are sometimes tinged pink, usually as the flowers open, or in cool weather. The flowers are produced in May and are followed by fragrant, golden yellow fruit that is edible when cooked.
Flower colour: White
Flower shape: Bowl-shaped flowers
Flowering time: May
Foliage:
Elliptic to ovate leaves are mid to dark green. The young shoots are covered in fine white hair. The leaves are Alternately arranged on the branches and turn yellow in autumn before dropping.
Foliage Senescence: Deciduous
Foliage Shape: Elliptic to ovate
Autumn Colour: Yellow
Fruit:
Pale golden yellow pome fruit is produced in early to mid autumn.
Fruit Type: Pome
Ripening Time: Late September - October
Storage Time: 6-8 weeks
Propagation:
Seed, cuttings, grafting.
Cultivation:
Best in full sun in fertile, moisture-retentive soil that is well-drained.