Crimea usually ripens in October here in Portland, but over a long time, because it sets so much fruit. It’s still ripening now mid November. Kaunching same? Kuganskaya a bit later, maybe starting mid october.
2 Likes
Smyrna is the latest for me, they were still partially green before we got hit with our first frost a couple weeks ago. Van Deman was a few weeks earlier and ripened to the point of falling off the tree. I didn’t write down dates, I just know Smyrna hasn’t turned totally yellow this year or last before freezing temperatures.
2 Likes
Wow. Would you share the varieties names?
I take back my previous bashing of Smyrna. Last year it was horrible tasting, but this season after a month on the counter it lost all astringency despite still being partially green before our first frost, was edible fresh although probably not to the degree most would like their fruit. It also is my most resistant to rust, haven’t had an outbreak on it yet whereas Van Deman seems to always get hit the worst. Van Deman also remained astringent despite being fully ripened and even after sitting a month on the counter. Cooks nicely though, but I prefer dual purpose quince. Smyrna also is more fragrant. Crimea is still my favorite, so far.
2 Likes
The actual Russian names of these varieties are:
Crimea — Krymskaya Rannyaya (Крымская ранняя), name translates as Crimean Early.
Aromatnaya — Krymskaya Aromatnaya (Крымская ароматная), name translates as Crimean Aromatic.
Kuganskaya — this name has been misspelled at some point, the actual name is Kubanskaya (Кубанская). Kuban (Кубань) is the name of a river and the respective region in southern Russia.
1 Like
Thanks for clarifying Stan. I don’t know Russian personally. The information that we got from the National Clonal Germplasm office was apparently a little off.
John S
PDX OR
1 Like
Clark, how is your quince grow now ? I noticed that you have grafted quince on a callery pear with a Kieffer pear interstem, did you run into any incompatible issue?
I have a seeding pear tree , more likely is Asian pear seeding, and I would like to graft quince on to the seeding. Did you try to graft quince directly to callery pear and noticed any growth differences without the interstem?
3 Likes
@IL847
Annie,
The quince are delayed incompatible in every case. They failed by the third year every time. I tried mutiple times using interstems only. In addition quince harbor diseases like quince rust i do not want in the pear orchard.
On the topic of quince, my FB-resistant seedlings I got a long time ago finally have one producing this year. The tree still gets a little fireblight, but not like the named varieties did. Hopefully they will taste good enough for cooking. I already sprayed it for quince rust, the other bugaboo with growing quince in my climate.
2 Likes
Hey there, hope it’s alright that I’m resurrecting this thread.
I recently got a new property, and I’m planning out where I want to place trees around it. I’m thinking I want to grow a quince tree along the south-facing wall of the house and fan-train it along the wall as it gets older - I think it’d be both useful and very ornamental. I’m curious if anyone here has recommendations on variety or otherwise.
One thing that’s unusual about me is that I grew up eating quinces fresh from the supermarket (sliced like apples), and I love the astringent, aromatic flavour and the hard, fibrous texture. It surprised me when I found out most people don’t consider quince appropriate for fresh eating! On the other hand, I find most pears cloyingly sweet. Now I’m a little worried that I’ll plant one of the varieties considered the “best for fresh eating” and end up with something that has the sweetness and low acid of a Gala apple. Everyone on the internet seems to like Kuganskaya, so I’m gravitating toward that - should I go with that, or go for a different variety?
I’m in Zone 7, East Coast. My space is limited, otherwise I’d plant a half-dozen varieties and thin to just the ones I like. Ideally, I’m looking for a plant that’s self-fertile, has nice aromatic blossoms and tasty fruit, and that I can train into a nice spreading fan.
I’d appreciate any advice!
1 Like
As a practical matter, you may need to pick a FB resistant variety regardless of its fruit quality.
Quoting One Green World on Kuganskaya: “… is sweet and mild, good for fresh eating …”, just the thing you are trying to avoid.
My old American variety, ‘Pineapple’, has bold flavor, acidic and fibrous, and not sweet.
I have never noticed any flower aroma, even during full bloom, but then it is still chilly here in that season. For near-house, you may want semi-dwarf or smaller rootstock.
3 Likes
Does anyone know which are FB resistant?
2 Likes
Clark the only ones I have are some seedlings I got from a USDA breeding program. I still have two and neither get blight like the standard ones I used to grow. Not sure they will taste good though. One is fruiting now but some animal is stealing them so I may not be able to try a ripe one.
For me the standard varieties of quince were all horrible blighters but it can vary a lot how bad a particular location is.
3 Likes
One of the eastern euro countries put out a FB resistant line, but I have yet to find them here. I had planned to put a few in, but your FB stories in old post have me on pause. I’m not putting up with any types of magnets.
3 Likes
Centigonal-welcome to the forum.
When they say that Kuganskaya is sweet- they don’t mean like a bland Gala apple. Kuganskaya and Crimea are both very complex, tart, astringent with some sweetness. I would try one if I were you. Most people find them to taste a little like the most complex heirloom apple they’ve ever had, but denser and more astringent.
John S
PDX OR
2 Likes
And drier, and woodier, and waxier.
I’d say they are harder, but not necessarily denser.
I took a pic of the fruit growing on suckers from my mature pear tree. I was unaware that the suckers were growing until This spring when I noticed the difference in my pear blossoms and the blossoms on the suckers. After reviewing the graft union I determined they must be quince. If anyone on the thread can give me an idea of the variety I would be grateful. I am willing to provide cuttings I would like to know the variety before offering cutting. It’s my first intro to quince.
Dennis
Kent, wa
4 Likes
What about Rich’s quince?
I ordered one from Ison’s, based on the below description, but all the talk of tannins has me worried that they may mean the flavor after cooking, not raw.
The mature height of Rich’s Fruiting Quince Tree may be dwarf but the fruit is huge! Skin is lemon-yellow and as fragrant as the best quince varieties. …The fruit is huge and delicious. The appearance is similar to other quince varieties with a bumpy an knobby shape and flat bottom. The skin has a lemony scent with small hints of green apple. The flesh is firm and crisp and has a unique flavor that gives you flavors of apples, pears and pineapple all mixed together.
1 Like
If its from root suckers on the pear tree, it seems likely to be what is used for rootstock. Maybe I’m stating the obvious. I didn’t think it was common to use cultivar clones known for their fruit, as rootstock (although I’ve done that at home).