Medlar

[philip]

I planted 4 different medlar varieties and i am still waiting to eat a medlar one day. From what i have read there are vast differences in fruit size and taste.

I am posting pictures of my 4 plants.

First one is the "Kurpfalzmispel"

Supposedly edible raw, without bletting due to very low bitterness and high sugar content.

Monstrueuse d'Evreinoff- largest of all french varieties fruit up to 7cm diameter

name unknown - large-fruited variety from a local tree nursery

Large Russian- very large fruit aswell. The plant is still very small

[richardw]

philip So what ages are they

[philip]

The first one i bought this year from a tree nursery. It's grafted on to quince rootstock and may be 2 years old now.
The second and third are about three years old but have been transplanted last winter.
The last one i got was grafted this year and i got it very recently.
I am hoping for fruit next year.
They have already flowered this year and last but the fruit was always aborted.
It can get quite dry during the summer months and lack of water seems to lead to the fruits being dropped.
Once they are better established they should make fruit.

[steve1]

@phillip I have just one tree, Nottingham. The few fruits I bothered to try were sort of spiced apple in flavor. It's a tough tree takes heat and dry well for me.

[philip]

I have fruit on one of my medlars this year. I still haven't tasted them.

I found a tree nursery owner that sells over twenty different varieties of medlar and i asked him which is the best-tasting one and he told me he found a local swiss tree with very small fruit that are highly aromatic and delicious. He said all the other varieties he has are pretty much the same in taste.

So size is not necessarily an advantage when it comes to medlars and their taste. There is still a lot to learn for me about medlars.

They are very beautiful trees, i find.

[richardw]

Hope they do well Philip

[philip]

I am trying to get medlar seeds to sprout. After 6 months of stratification i got impatient. I started scarifying them and a few weeks later i cracked them open with pliers.
Only 8 seeds out of 48 had a pip inside. They would all sink to the ground in a glass of water, so this is not a method for testing their viability. I now have them in stratification in sand in my fridge. I can confirm that they are not easy to grow from seed.