Quince tree: care, calendar, diseases
Everything to care for a home quince tree: when to prune, graft, spot diseases, and ensure pollination.
quince tree care calendar
| Period | Task |
|---|---|
| February | Do the winter pruning if the weather allows |
| May | Keep watch on leaves, young shoots and fruit |
| October | Check ripeness and organise the harvest |
quince tree pollination
The quince tree is generally self-fertile: a single tree is enough to bear fruit. Learn more about pollination.
Pruning and grafting the quince tree
Prune
- Prune little, in winter: keep an open goblet shape and a clear trunk.
- Remove dead wood, suckers at the base and crossing branches.
- Avoid hard pruning: quince fruits on short spurs.
Graft
- Quince is often used as a rootstock for pears; it can also be grafted itself.
- Bud-graft in summer or cleft-graft in spring, using healthy material.
- Watch the graft union and remove rootstock suckers.
Prone to fire blight and quince leaf blight; quinces are picked late (October) and ripened indoors.
quince tree diseases and pests
Brown rot possibleThe browning and the pads on the fruit are consistent with a rot that spreads mainly throu…Scab possibleOlive-brown spots on leaves and fruit are consistent with apple or pear scab.…Aphids likelySmall insects, curled leaves and sticky honeydew point to an aphid attack.…Fire blightA serious bacterial disease of apple, pear and quince trees: shoots blacken as if burnt an…Powdery mildewWhite powdery coating on young leaves and shoots, which become deformed and stop growing.…Apple and pear cankerSunken bark wounds with concentric ridges: the fungus slowly kills the branch.…Chlorosis (deficiency, often iron)Leaves yellow between veins that stay green, mainly on young shoots: not a contagious dise…Scale insectsSmall fixed bumps on the bark or stems, sticky honeydew and a black deposit (sooty mould):…Collar rot (Phytophthora)A dark ooze at the base of the trunk and general decline: a soil fungus attacks the collar…Water stress (lack of water)Dry leaf edges, soft foliage in the heat and early leaf drop: the tree is short of water, …Pear rustBright orange spots on top of the leaves, with small brown outgrowths underneath: a rust f…Woolly apple aphidWhite cottony clusters on bark and twigs, with swellings: an aphid protected by woolly wax…
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