Oregon · Washington · Idaho
When to plant quince trees
Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle Mar 1 – Apr 26; Spokane Apr 1 – May 27; Boise Mar 20 – May 15; Bend Apr 28 – Jun 23.
Your dates in
Quince is a relative of apples and pears with lumpy, fuzzy yellow fruit whose strong perfume can scent a room. Slow cooking turns it into membrillo (quince paste), jelly and poached fruit. Its big pale pink spring flowers make it an ornamental tree too.
Puts quince trees on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Sun
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 12 to 15 feet apart
- Planting depth
- Same depth as in the pot or nursery
- Frost
- Very hardy; blooms late enough to miss most frosts
- First harvest
- First fruit in three to five years
An old-fashioned small tree with big, fragrant yellow fruit that's too hard to eat raw but turns pink and perfumed when cooked. It's self-fertile, so one tree is enough. Leaf blight is the main trouble in wet west-side springs.
Quince planting dates
| Towns | Plant in the garden |
|---|---|
| Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Spokane, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID | Mar 20 – May 15 |
| Bend and Redmond, OR | Apr 28 – Jun 23 |
| Astoria, OR | Mar 25 – May 20 |
Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.
| Gresham, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|---|
| Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR | Mar 5 – Apr 30 |
| Corvallis and Albany, OR, Eugene, OR, Salem, OR | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|---|
| Cottage Grove, OR | Mar 13 – May 8 |
| McMinnville and Newberg, OR | Mar 4 – Apr 29 |
| Ashland and Talent, OR | Mar 25 – May 20 |
|---|---|
| Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR | Mar 25 – May 20 |
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| Bend and Redmond, OR, Klamath Falls, OR | Apr 28 – Jun 23 |
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| Burns, OR | Apr 30 – Jun 25 |
| Lakeview, OR | Apr 23 – Jun 18 |
| Madras, OR, Prineville, OR | Apr 20 – Jun 15 |
| Baker City, OR, Enterprise and Joseph, OR, John Day, OR | Apr 20 – Jun 15 |
|---|---|
| Hermiston, OR, Hood River, OR, Ontario, OR, Pendleton, OR, The Dalles, OR | Mar 20 – May 15 |
| La Grande, OR | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
|---|---|
| Olympia, WA | Mar 18 – May 13 |
| Shelton, WA | Mar 16 – May 11 |
| Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
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| Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA | Mar 25 – May 20 |
|---|---|
| Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Sequim, WA | Mar 10 – May 5 |
| Centralia and Chehalis, WA | Mar 11 – May 6 |
|---|---|
| Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA | Mar 1 – Apr 26 |
| Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA | Mar 20 – May 15 |
|---|---|
| Leavenworth, WA, Omak and Okanogan, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Winthrop and Twisp, WA | Apr 3 – May 29 |
| Ellensburg, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Ephrata and Quincy, WA, Moses Lake, WA, Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA, Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA, Walla Walla, WA | Mar 20 – May 15 |
| Goldendale, WA | Apr 7 – Jun 2 |
| Yakima, WA | Mar 27 – May 22 |
| Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA | Apr 1 – May 27 |
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| Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
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| Lewiston, ID | Mar 20 – May 15 |
|---|---|
| Moscow, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID, Emmett, ID, Nampa and Caldwell, ID | Mar 20 – May 15 |
|---|---|
| McCall, ID | May 11 – Jul 6 |
| Burley and Rupert, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Rexburg, ID, Twin Falls, ID | Apr 1 – May 27 |
|---|---|
| Salmon, ID | Apr 20 – Jun 15 |
Quince year at a glance
| Task | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | Mar | Apr | ||||||||||
| Harvest | Oct | |||||||||||
| In bloom | Apr | May |
Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates. Harvest months are for an established plant.
How to grow quince trees
- Pick a sunny spot with soil that drains well, and mix in an inch or two of compost.
- Plant quince trees on your city's dates, 12 to 15 feet apart. Same depth as in the pot or nursery.
- Water deeply through the first two summers. Prune lightly in late winter to open up the center.
- Harvest: Pick in October when the fruit turns from green to fully yellow and smells strongly fragrant. Handle gently; they bruise easily. Cook them into jelly, paste or poached fruit.
Growing quince trees in your part of the Northwest
The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.
West-side valleys
Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon
Quince is easy in west-side gardens. Fire blight and leaf blight are the main diseases in wet springs.
More quince varieties
More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.
Aromatnaya
Fragrant fruit that's soft enough to eat fresh when fully ripe. One of the most popular quinces for home gardens.
Both sides
Smyrna
Big, golden, very fragrant fruit that's excellent for paste and jelly.
Both sides
Orange
Also called Apple quince: rounded fruit with orange-tinted flesh and a strong aroma. An old, widely planted variety.
Both sides
How much to grow
How many to plant
One tree is enough; quince is self-fertile.
What to expect
A mature tree gives roughly 30 to 60 pounds.
Storing the harvest
Keep in a cool, dark place for two to three months. The scent fills a room.
Key numbers
- 3–5Years to fruit
- Self-fertilePollination
- OctoberHarvest
- Leaf blightBiggest risk
Top care tip: Rake up and remove fallen leaves each autumn to cut down on leaf blight.
Growing notes
What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.
What quince is
Fruiting quince, Cydonia oblonga, is a small tree related to apples and pears, with big pink-white spring flowers and golden, fragrant fruit in fall. It's not the same as flowering quince, an ornamental shrub with small, hard fruit.
Most varieties are too hard and sour to eat raw. Cooked slowly, the flesh turns pink and perfumed, which is why quince is prized for jelly, paste and poached fruit. Aromatnaya is one of the few soft enough to eat fresh when fully ripe.
Planting and care
Quince is self-fertile, so one tree is enough. Plant in full sun in soil that drains reasonably well. It blooms late, after most frosts, and it's very cold-hardy.
Trees grow 12 to 15 feet and need only light pruning in late winter to remove crossing branches and open the center.
Diseases
Quince leaf blight is the main problem in wet west-side springs: brown spots on leaves and fruit and early leaf drop. Rake and remove fallen leaves in autumn and prune for good airflow.
Quince can also get fire blight. Cut blackened shoots well below the damage on a dry day.
Good neighbors
Good neighbors
- A sunny, airy spot. Reduces leaf blight.
Pests and problems
What most often goes wrong with quince trees in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.
Quince leaf blight
Signs: Brown leaf spots and early leaf drop.
What to do: Rake up fallen leaves and prune for airflow.
Fire blight
Signs: Blackened shoot tips.
What to do: Cut well below damage on a dry day.
Common questions about growing quince trees
When should I plant quince trees in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?
Plant in the garden: Mar 1 – Apr 26 in Portland and Seattle, Apr 1 – May 27 in Spokane, Mar 20 – May 15 in Boise and Apr 28 – Jun 23 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.
Can you eat quince raw?
Most varieties are too hard and sour. Cook them. A few, like Aromatnaya, soften enough to eat fresh when fully ripe.
When is quince ready to pick?
In October, when the fruit turns from green to fully yellow and smells strongly fragrant.
Does quince need a pollinator?
No. Quince is self-fertile, so one tree fruits on its own.
See what else to plant in March or April.
Apple trees
Pear trees
Plum trees
Cherry trees
Peach trees
Fig trees
Hazelnut trees
Asian pear trees
Persimmon trees
Mulberry trees