Common Quince: The Fragrant Fruit Too Few Gardeners Grow

About this episode

In this episode, Steven Biggs talks with Matt Soltys about the benefits and uses of common quince in gardening and cooking.

Online classes happening soon: Grow a Potted Yuzu Citrus, Grow Angel's Trumpet (brugmansia) on Your Patio. --- Common quince is beautiful, fragrant, useful in the kitchen —and still surprisingly uncommon in Canadian gardens. In this episode, I talk with Matt Soltys, The Urban Orchardist, about why this old fruit deserves another look. Matt shares what he’s seeing as he visits urban fruit trees across southern Ontario: backyard quince trees, older pawpaws, locally adapted genetics, and overlooked trees that could become the foundation of future breeding work. We talk about common quince as a small garden tree, how it differs from Japanese quince, why one tree can be plenty, how the fruit is used, its role as pear rootstock, and simple pruning ideas for healthier fruit trees. In this episode, we cover: Growing common quince in cold-climate gardens Why quince is such a good fit for home gardeners The difference between common quince and Japanese quince Quince preserves, cider, and other kitchen uses Fruit-tree breeding and locally adapted genetics Pawpaws, pears, and other unexpected urban fruit trees Pruning quince and other backyard fruit trees --- There’s a whole world inside…

People in this episode

Host: Steven Biggs

Guest: Matt Soltys

Topics covered

• common quince
• urban fruit trees
• cold-climate gardening
• fruit-tree breeding
• kitchen uses of quince
• pruning fruit trees

Keywords

• quince
• edible gardening
• fruit trees
• pruning
• cooking with quince
• cold-climate gardening
• urban orchards

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Urban Orchardist

Places: southern Ontario, Canada

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