When to harvest Quince in the UK
Quince is planted rather than sown from seed, so the dates below are harvest dates.
Harvest dates by region
Quince shows the same dates across the whole UK, so every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Harvest |
|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | early October to mid November |
| South Coast and Channel | early October to mid November |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | early October to mid November |
| South East and Home Counties | early October to mid November |
| East Anglia | early October to mid November |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | early October to mid November |
| Wales and West Coast | early October to mid November |
| Northern England | early October to mid November |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | early October to mid November |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | early October to mid November |
| Northern Ireland | early October to mid November |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | early October to mid November |
Growing notes
Plant between November and March and be patient: quinces usually start cropping only when five or six years old, then fruit for decades. The aromatic golden fruits are picked in October or November and are always cooked; in wet districts choose the blight-tolerant 'Serbian Gold' or 'Aromatnaya'.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 400 cm between plants
- Row spacing
- 450 cm
- Plants per m²
- 0.05
- Yield per plant
- 10 kg
- Eventual height
- 400 cm
- Eventual spread
- 400 cm
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- Yes, 90 litres or more
- Minimum soil depth
- 45 cm
- Balcony rating
- 1 out of 5
Pruning: what to avoid
Quinces are tip-bearers: the fruit forms mainly at the tips of shoots made the previous year, so shortening all the young shoots in winter removes the crop. Prune lightly while dormant, taking out only dead, damaged, congested or wayward wood, and remove suckers from the graft.
Pruning group
quince (light winter pruning, tip-bearer)
Bare-root season
Bare-root stock is lifted and sold while dormant, from early November to late March. Container-grown plants can go in at other times of year, but bare-root is cheaper and establishes well.
How long until it crops
Expect the first worthwhile pick about 5 years after planting, and a productive life of roughly 50 years.
What usually goes wrong
- quince leaf blight
- brown rot
- powdery mildew
- frost-damaged blossom
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for quince.