I saw a really stunning flowering quince out in Rhode Island a week or so ago. When I got back I did a little research on their hardinessÂI assume you're asking about the flowering shrub, right?Âand that sort of convinced me I'd never get a nice big upright quince through a MN winter. Maybe others have actual experiences to share. GaryStPaul

Gary, thanks for tipping me off to the types of quinces.

I'm actually interested in a fruiting quince, not flowering quince. (Though I just googled images and they are lovely.)

http://www.oikostreecrops.com/store/prodtype.asp?PT_ID=138&strPageHistory=cat

Doesn't mean it is truly hardy, but Bachman's was selling Texas Scarlet last year.

I am also interest to know if anyone has flowering quince like Texas Scarlet and how it does here. It is rated as zone 5.

I have a quince tree. It's about 5 feet tall. The last 3 years it did really well surviving the winter.

Every spring it had beautiful white sweet smelling flowers. I was looking forward to finally getting fruit this year, but our hard winter froze the quince 3 feet down the trunk. It has set out shoots now, but I don't know how well it will do.
I also had a cherry freeze back to just the trunk and a few short branches.

Hang on, people are dropping comments about two different creatures here. The quince that is known for being a sweetly flavored, tennis ball-sized fruit that is eaten across the world is Cydonia oblonga, which wouldn't be winter hardy in Minnesota.

The flowering quince is Chaenomeles speciosa or C. japonica and hybrids, etc. With a good microclimate and mild winter, I could see it being somewhat (but not reliably) hardy across most of Minnesota. As one mentioned, easily with severe dieback if not fully protected under snow in Jan and February. The small fruits of flowering quince are edible, but they are tremendously bitter.

Thanks to the highly misleading modified USDA zone hardiness maps sent out by the Arbor Day Foundation, nurseries are feeling empowered to bring in marginally or fully unhardy plants into new regions, mainly for $$$ (market share). :(

Here is a link that might be useful: Quince cultural info

Last spring (2008) I planted two Cydonia quinces from Oikos at my dad's farm in central MN, 30 miles north of St. Cloud. At planting, they were only 1 ft tall, and put on a few inches more growth as they got established over the summer.

I was just out there this week, and both of them are still alive! They suffered some dieback, but that was to be expected. The location was a somewhat sheltered region (eastern side of our windbreak, backed up by 3 rows of spruce and red pine to the west). I didn't get the bales of straw around them for insulation like I had planned on, and we didn't have another mild winter like so many previous years. They are back to their original 1 ft height, but the regrowth is looking very vigorous. I'm hopeful that if I baby them the first few years with straw bales and piled snow for added insulation they'll make it on their own later on.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oikos Quince Trees

Gusolie - actually lots of plant species are mistakenly labels as zone 5 only hardy when they are actually zone 4 hardy - and then there are strange exceptions - I have seen with my eyes an big mature American Sycamore near the University of Minnesota Campus St. Paul Campus and also on campus two sicky little bald cypress and at the arboretum a tulip tree thought I don't know how long the tulip tree had been planted.

Hello, I am originally from Peru. During this time of the year (October) we have a special celebration and we make a syrupy cake and the syrup needs Quince. I was wondering if any of you have quince that I may purchase or maybe you know where may I get some around here. Thank you,

There are at least 3 varieties of hardy quince growing and thriving at the Minnesota landscape arboretum in Chaska Mn (zone4b). I checked them out in October 2018 - but didnt write down their names. Might be worth a visit. They have a plant finder button so you can find their exact location and maybe their names, but it is nice to see their shapes/fruit/coloring in person.

I’ve seen one in the crocus hill neighborhood of St. Paul.

David,

Could you relay what type of planting conditions that you have your Quince fruit trees in? Such as an open location in full sun, or sheltered by a east wall or trees? I would like to plant some in our backyard, but am curious about if it would be too open. Also did you protect your trees from deer, rabbits or squirrels?

Thanks.

Summitst,

My backyard Cydonia oblonga has nearly full sun during the growing season, and is shaded by the neighbor's garage (to the south) in the winter. This prevents sun scald injury on the SW side of the tree. My front yard C. oblonga is also shaded in winter--by the house (to the west.)

The two quince trees that I grew in another, more open location in St. Paul suffered significant winter damage on the SW side, resulting in loss of limbs and general decline. Wrapping the trunk and branches with protective paper tape can mitigate this kind of damage to a certain extant.

I lost these last two trees this year to construction, and have ordered replacements, cultivar 'Aromatnya.'

Another hazard here at home is rabbits eating the bark of young trees in winter. A cylinder of hardware cloth around the trunk, one that extends ABOVE the snow line will keep the rabbits out.

And then there are the squirrels, which this year destroyed all the immature fruits from the backyard tree. They didn't eat them, they just cut them off the tree one by one and left them lying on the ground.

But don't let me discourage you ...

David,

Thanks for the details on exposures and the information on the cultivar. Yes, the squirrels can be ferocious on young trees, especially when they are building nests. We live in Iowa and have always wanted to grow a quince tree, I will give it a try!

Kumi