I have to make an emergency replacement for ‘Moonglow’ which got blighted out. I want harvest queen based on you guys talking it up.
All I can find is on Quince. I’m in the rocky mountain foothills. Fireblight isn’t normally a problem here.
Is it still considered an OK rootstock?
Quince is good if you are not in too cold a zone. Zone 6 is fine, not sure about 5A though.
I have heard that quince is cold-hardy to Northern New England. History books say that, before fireblight, there was at least one quince in every yankee backyard and farm. They were valued for the health benefits observed in helping folks survive the deathly cold winters (likely the dose of Vitamin C they would impart).
I’ll take a chance then, thanks.
I would ask the seller. A standard quince stock today is Angers quince and Google says it is hardy to zone 6 only.
Too late! I already put in my order. It’s Cummins up in Ithaca, so I figure I’m in the ballpark anyway, on cold hardiness.
You guys got any ideas about planting bare-root so late, other than running to the hole the minute the package arrives?
I read that very same thing Matt, long ago. No doubt from the same source though I don’t remember where I read it anymore.
I pulled of I-68E onto a secondary road a long time ago and stopped on that secondary road to do something in the car. I happened to look out and in a yard nearby was the largest Quince with the largest fruit ever. At first glance I crazily thought they were lemons. They were all laying about and I grabbed one and took it home. I didn’t have any idea what it was. I had to look it up and found it on Wikipedia.
The exit was Belle Grove I think…somewhere down around there.
I think I confirmed Provence Quince can’t handle much below -10°F. Mine died after the previous winter when we had many overover night lows in the negative teens. I think the damage was done during winter, but it struggled into spring before dying. The tree leafed out and bloomed, but the leaves started turn sooner and faster. I did an inspection and bark fell of the rootstock portion. There was no visual clues to indicate the cause. It was the first time I saw a dead rootstock with the graft still alive (but fading).
I also had chlorosis issues with that tree. Every year the tree would start out with lush green leaves in spring that gradually turned to yellow over summer.
I was so frustrated with this tree I didn’t shed a tear when it died and, after researching Provence Quince, I would never get one again. I think it is only good to zone 5B and is less adaptable to heavy soils than peaches, IMO.
OK. I’m seeing something from Vineland saying “Quince A” is hardy to -26c which ought to do me. Let’s hope its not “Quince B” The fact that Vineland even evaluates the stuff is pretty hopeful.
I have no idea what type of Quince my Potomac pear is grafted onto, but it has survived -13 and -11 in consecutive years. Like AJ says though I have noted some very mild chlorosis and it is certainly not a product of any nutrient deficiency. It could well be that of the cultivar, but never read anything about it before.
It certainly doesn’t grow as strong as seedling, that’s for sure.
Well, the stupid Moonglow was never good for anything but pollinating the Summercrisp. So it doesn’t have big shoes to fill. Beggars can’t be choosers: This time of year it’s either Bartlett or this.
Yeah…I’m sure it’s fine. If you have no trouble with fireblight, why not the Bartlett?
As a follow-up here, sorry to resurrect the thread, is there any concern to using quince as rootstock only, if we use a fireblight tolerant/resistant scion? My understanding is that the bacterium passes from pollinators to flowers, so perhaps as long as we ensure the rootstock doesn’t sucker & flower, we should not have to worry about the quince stock susceptibility to blight?