My Kuganskaya is fruiting now. Seems to have about the same disease problems as Crimea: some, but not insurmountable. Unfortunately, I got out there early with my compost tea this year so I mistimed it. Doh!
John S
PDX OR
Anybody know where to find Quince C? Hoping to get some for next year.
Jesse,
Do you plan to protect your trees over winter, or no?
No, i want to gauge relative hardiness ov the different types.
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Iāll be interested in your updates, for sure! I am wondering if I had put kuganskaya in a more protected spot, if it wouldnāt have had die back. Itās really in the most exposed place in my yard for north winds.
I may cover the whole thing with leaves or straw this winter.
I have not seen that from the retail vendors, only Provence or A. I find the non-C to still be plenty (i.e. too much in some cases) dwarfing so donāt see a big reason for C which is supposed to be more dwarfing than the others.
When I prune the tree, I just plant that stick in the ground. Then I use it as rootstock. It works perfectly. Usually I make a slice on the bottom six inches of each side of the bark so the roots can grow out.
John S
PDX OR
Our farm has about 80 quince bushes, with half being in their 8th season and the other half 2 or 3 years. We sell them at farmers markets and to restaurants.
Variety notes:
Aromatanaya- the earliest ripened and with the best yellow color. Fairly heavy bearer and prone to branch breakage if not thinned and propped. Very susceptible to fire blight.
Smyrna - not very vigorous in our sandy soil and the fruits are more pale and so not as desirable.
Crimea - our best performer for yield, vigor and disease resistance. Late maturing. Holds more weight on branches than others but still must be propped.
Mellow - a flop at our place. We lost some to fire blight and the rest are growing well but hardly set any fruit. More pear shaped than our other varieties, and doesnāt color well. Iām grafting over next spring.
Limon- in its 8th season Iām going to finally get the first fruit. Only 3 on the plant though.
The younger plants include about 5 other varieties but most havenāt fruited yet so canāt report.
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Howās the taste of Crimea?
I think that Crimea and Kuganskaya are far and away the best tasting quinces Iāve eaten. These are two that you can eat fresh. Their taste is so similar as to be difficult to distinguish. In Russia, where they are both from, they are both called Krimskaya.
John S
PDX OR
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Crimea is definitely a keeper for me, as far as quinces go.
Could you please offer a quince report that mentions their merits for fresh eating, compared to one another? Perhaps what distinguishes the fruit from cultivar to cultivar?
I donāt really like any of them fresh so I canāt give a report. And they all taste pretty similar to me cooked. When they ripen again this year I will try tasting them again.
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I think their suitability for fresh eating depends greatly on where and how they are grown, not just the cultivar.
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For me, Aromatnaya and Smyrna arenāt worth eating fresh. Smyrna does a great job of filling a room with aroma, though. Kaunching is pretty good, but not quite as good as Crimea and Kuganskaya, which are both strongly flavored and excellent. A guy on my baseball team was very pleasantly surprised today when he ate some of my Crimea.
John S
PDX OR
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I harvested a modest first crop from Aromatanaya- two wonderfully aromatic fruit.
Glad to see that they are able ripen here and looking forward to continue working with this plant.
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I also acquired some locally grown Smyna, Van Deman, seedling, and Champion(seems like this one is the latest to ripen)ā¦next stop, membrillo!
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I grow Crimea, Kuganskaya, and Kaunching. Kuganskaya and Crimea are outstanding fresh sliced. Kaunching is pretty good, but Iāll probably graft it over or give it away. Also, today for lunch, for example, I sliced up some Crimea and put it in my casserole for lunch. We also put fresh quince into our green salads. Iāve had Aromatnaya fresh, and in my opinion, itās not worth growing to eat fresh. I freeze the bulk of my quince and eat the chunks during my weekly baseball game, because it has more pectin than any other fruit and therefore, fights inflammation.
John S
PDX OR
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Can you comment on the ripening order of the quince varieties you grow?