Quince tree: growing and care

Growing

Quince can grow as a shrub or tree with a height of 1.5 to 4 meters. Young twigs are fleecy, as if they are covered with gray velvet, the bark on the trunk and old branches is thin, easily peeling, dark gray, sometimes with a brown tint. Dark green large oval leaves on the underside are also covered with a grayish downy. Trees begin to bloom in May, they are quite large, often solitary, they look very beautiful, they are pink of varying intensity or even purple. The fruits, usually large, slightly resembling apples or pears, are round and uneven, turn yellow as they ripen, some varieties develop a pink blush. The diameter of the fruits of wild trees does not exceed 4 cm, and the cultivated ones are about 15 cm, they, like young shoots and leaves, are slightly covered with velvet villi.

Fruits ripen by the end of September, but it is difficult to eat them fresh right away, despite the pleasant aroma, tasty juice and a huge amount of useful substances - rigidity, viscosity and villi physically impede this action. They produce delicious juices, compotes, jellies, preserves, marmalades, confitures. They can be stored until spring at a temperature of no higher than +3 degrees, and over time they become softer, acquire more sugars, and lose their viscosity. In addition to desserts, they are used as a seasoning for cooking meat.

Trees are durable, they live up to 60 years, actively bear fruit for 50 years, starting from 3-4 years of life. One tree can give from 25 to 100 kg of fruit per year, which even commercial benefits can be obtained from growing quince.

A very beautiful quince tree, flowering makes it even more attractive, sometimes, when growing, people use it only as an ornamental crop, and not for the sake of fruits. It propagates quite easily in several ways - by seeds, layering and root shoots.

Soil preparation

Many gardeners simply do not know how to grow a quince, and in fact it is a relative of many of our fruit trees - apple, pear, plum, can grow in similar conditions. The tree is unpretentious, drought-resistant, can grow in almost any soil. But it feels best and gives large juicy fruits on heavy clay soils, especially if you prepare the place in advance. Light soil with a high sand content will cause the tree to bear fruit earlier, but the overall life expectancy and yield will be much less. You can plant a seedling in spring and autumn, while the tree is at rest. Before the autumn planting, they find an open warm place, in the spring they dig it up to a depth of 30 - 40 cm, while adding superphosphate and potassium salt. Then watered and left until autumn. For spring planting, soil preparation is carried out in the fall.

Planting seedlings

The root system of this culture does not grow very deeply, but its width is several times greater than the crown of a tree, so a hole for planting is dug up to 90 cm wide, at least 40 cm deep. The distance to the nearest tree or building should be at least 5 m. the bottom of the pit is laid with a layer of clay, a strong peg is driven in for a garter, then a third of the pit is filled with fertile soil mixed with superphosphate and wood ash. A seedling with straightened roots is placed on top and carefully covered with earth, lightly ramming it around the stem. After planting, the tree is watered abundantly, the ground around is mulched with peat or humus, in the spring the mulch layer should be approximately 5 cm, and in the fall - 10 cm.

Video "Growing"

From the video you will learn how to grow this tree.

Care

Quince, the cultivation and care of which so frightens many summer residents, is an unpretentious and very resistant plant, it is grown as a standard tree, forming it by pruning from the first year. She responds well to care, you need to closely monitor her only for the first years, until a tender seedling turns into a strong young tree, then courtship will be reduced to rare watering, fertilizing, pruning and preventive treatments against disease and pests. The result will be a wonderful crop grown on your site.

A young tree is watered more often, and an adult is watered 4 - 5 times per season. The first time they water before flowering, then water the flowering tree, support the formation of ovaries with moisture, the growth of new shoots and fruits. The last watering occurs at the end of August or the beginning of September (for mature plants). Each time a lot of water is poured, under a young tree - up to 400 liters, and under an adult - up to 800 liters. After watering, be sure to loosen the ground to a depth of 5 - 8 cm.

The near-trunk circle needs to be freed from weeds, and it is not necessary to grow some plants there, so as not to damage the roots of the quince, its root system is located close to the surface, capturing a large space, it is better not to take away nutrients from it. If you mulch the trunk circle, you will have to weed and loosen the ground less often.

Pruning

The technique of pruning quince is akin to pruning an apple tree. In a young tree, starting from the first year, a crown is formed, then it will only be necessary to maintain it. Sanitary pruning can take place all summer long - dry leaves, broken or improperly growing branches must be removed constantly, while the main pruning, forming or rejuvenating, is done in autumn or spring, when the juices have already stopped or have not yet begun to move.

In an annual tree, the lower tier of the main branches is formed, retreating 50 - 60 cm from the grafting site, leaving 3 - 4 branches at a distance of 10 - 15 cm from each other. The second tier will be single shoots at intervals of up to 35 cm.

All skeletal branches should grow at a 45 degree angle to the trunk.

In a two-year-old tree, the lower main branches are shortened, leaving 50 cm from the base, other shoots are cut in approximately the same way, and the main conductor is cut 25 cm higher than all other branches. With the beginning of fruiting, the branches are simply shortened and thinned, then rejuvenating pruning begins, when five-year-old shoots are removed, on which fewer and fewer fruits are formed.

Top dressing

If, during planting, the pit was well filled with organic fertilizers, then the next portion of organic matter can be given in 2 years, but this culture must be fed with mineral fertilizers three times during the growing season. Usually, in the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are scattered around the trunk, which are gradually delivered to the roots with moisture. After flowering and in August, the near-stem circle is watered with a solution of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

In the spring after the first watering and in the fall, in preparation for winter, the trunk circle is mulched with compost or peat, which also slowly but constantly send nutrients to the roots.

Preparing for winter

In autumn, water-charging irrigation is carried out, that is, up to 800 liters of water are poured under each tree to nourish the root system until spring. This will help them endure frost more easily. After harvesting, a preventive treatment for scab is carried out (usually a urea solution is used), when leaf fall ends, you can carry out sanitary pruning, and then start warming trees before the onset of frost.

Many varieties of quince are considered frost-resistant, but it is better to cover young trees from severe frosts. Roots located close to the surface of the earth can freeze even in mature trees, therefore, the trunk circle is usually mulched with humus or compost to a height of at least 15 - 20 cm, covering the base of the trunk. The trunk and bases of the lower branches are whitewashed with lime. Young trees are covered more thoroughly. They are wrapped in lutrasil or other similar material, then they are tied with spruce branches, in winter they shovel up a lot of snow. Some gardeners make a pipe made of roofing material around a small tree, covered with earth and compost, cover it with dry leaves, and in winter they try to pour a high snowdrift. So her fragile plant survives the first, and sometimes the second winter.

The best neighbors

It is advisable not to plant anything under the quince. Not only will she hide these plants in her shadow, but her roots will lose nutrients, and may suffer from neighbors. She herself also does not like shade, or rather, she tolerates it normally, but the branches become thinner, and the fruits are smaller, therefore, it is not recommended to plant trees nearby (within a radius of 5 meters).

Cultivated varieties are self-fertile, but the quality of the harvest will improve if other varieties of quince or at least related apple and pear trees grow nearby.

Diseases and pests

It is believed that quince has strong immunity, a healthy plant is not afraid of diseases, so proper care can save the tree from these troubles. But still, she can suffer from powdery mildew, scab, moniliosis and other diseases.

Powdery mildew is especially dangerous in wet, cool summers. It first affects young annual shoots, manifesting itself with a light light bloom, then it becomes a dense brown film, the ovaries crumble, the leaves are deformed, the shoots dry up. The affected parts must be cut off and destroyed, and the whole tree must be treated with fungicides, preferably several times.

Brownishness of the leaves is possible, which appears as rounded brown spots on the leaves, and over time makes them curl, dry out, and crumble prematurely. The fallen leaves must be burned, and the tree and the ground under it must be treated with Bordeaux liquid.

Moniliosis, or fruit rot, can appear too humid in spring, but it appears already on the fruit. Brown spots appear on them, which grow and render the fruit unusable.

Rust and decay of the ovaries also first form spots, tubercles on the leaves, and then kill the leaves and ovaries. They are treated with Fundazol.

Pathogenic organisms settle on plant debris near the tree, they may not be active for a long time, but if the tree weakens for any reason, if the weather is on their side, then infection is quite possible. To minimize this possibility, you need to monitor the condition of the land under the crown and take preventive measures. So in the spring, while the buds have not yet blossomed, the whole plant is treated with Bordeaux liquid. The earth around is watered with a solution of potassium permanganate. To protect the plant from pests (aphids, mining moths, sawflies, moths) and fungal spores that cause powdery mildew, use the Fastak solution before flowering.

After flowering, the tree is recommended to be treated with "Topaz" so that leaf-eating pests, scab and fruit rot do not spoil the plant.In the summer, you can use "Strobi" or "Kemifos" against pests and fungal diseases, but one and a half months before harvesting, chemicals are stopped. And after the litter of the harvest, the tree is again treated with Bordeaux liquid or a solution of copper sulfate.

Varieties

There are two types of quince - common and Japanese. Japanese quince is a shrub with bright flowers, they are pink and red-orange, they look very decorative, but the fruits are too tough, which may be why it is less popular than common quince. Our gardeners cultivate just ordinary or oblong, as it is also called. Among the most popular varieties, there are several that differ in terms of ripening.

By the end of September, the "Early Butter" ripens. The weight of large lemon-colored fruits ranges from 190 g to 150 g. They are round-conical, smooth, ribbed, very aromatic, fine-grained yellowish pulp has a sweet and sour taste, the longer it is stored, the less viscous it becomes.

"Juicy" with fruits weighing 250 g, is characterized by winter hardiness and indifference to lack of moisture. Juicy fruits with yellowish pulp have a sour-sweet taste.

"Crimean aromatic" ripens by the second half of September, its smooth lemon-colored fruits are sour, with yellow flesh.

Until mid-October, “Kubanskaya”, “Astrakhanskaya”, “Kaunchi 10”, “Beretski” ripen. The dense and sweet fruits of "Kaunchi 10" are pear-shaped and distinctly pubescent. And "Beretski" is a partially self-fertile variety. Its delicious sweet fruits can be eaten fresh, but only if the Champion, Gigantic, and Portuguese varieties that grew nearby were used for pollination.

Late varieties ripen by early or mid November. “Portuguese” is a partially self-fertile variety with pear-shaped, viscous fruits. A fruitful, indifferent to cold, wind and disease Dagestan variety "Zubutlinskaya" gives huge (up to 800 g) felt fruits of golden color with juicy tasty pulp. "Buinakskaya large-fruited", "Ktyun-jum" - their light yellow fruits are famous for their pleasant sweet and sour taste, it is a pity that not everywhere there is so warm November for them to ripen.

The following varieties are suitable for the Moscow region: "Muscat", "Yantarnaya", "Success", "Pervenets". They are not striking in size, but they ripen perfectly, allowing you to prepare delicious desserts from very healthy fruits. They differ slightly in taste, but after a month and a half after harvesting, they all become much sweeter and lose their viscosity.

Video "Leaving"

From the video you will learn how to care for a tree.