Quince Propagation

Quince

Sexual Propagation

Where quince seedlings are desired, the quince seed is extracted from mature fruit, cleaned, stratified in sand and stored in a cool place until planting out in late winter - early spring. If the seedlings grow well, they will be large enough to bud with the desired varieties during the following late summer–autumn. Trees on seedling rootstock should produce some fruit by about the fifth year (Campbell 2001).

Asexual Propagation

Micropropagation

Multiple plantlets are grown from shoot tissue taken from a single plant, resulting in identical clones. This method is preferred for rootstock development. Traditional methods below.

Mound Layering

Quince propagation illustrations from ' American Pomology Apple' by W. A. Warder 1856. source: Project Gutenburg Ebooks (http://www.gutenberg.org)

Mound layering is a traditional method of propagation also called 'stool layering' (see figures at right taken from Warder's American Pomology Apple (1856). Quince can be propagated readily by mound layering, which is useful with heavy-stemmed, closely branched plants and appropriate for fruit rootstock production. The original plant may be cut back to the growth of new shoots from the base. During the following spring, a mound of soil containing sphagnum peat moss is pressed around the new growing shoots. Roots from the new shoots grow into the mound of soil. New plants are ready for digging and transplant during the following autumn or spring (Lerner and Dana 2001).

Hardwood Cuttings

Quince roots easily by hardwood cuttings from one-year-old wood. The cuttings, about 25 cm (9.8 in), are taken during the late autumn–early winter. This is a common method of propagation, however, the resultant trees tend to produce suckers, which require removal. Cuttings from two- to three-year-old wood also root easily. After one season, cuttings can usually be transplanted to their permanent location (Campbell 2001).