Quince does not bear fruit: the tree blooms, but there is no ovary – what to do?

Correct landing

The younger the seedling that is chosen for planting, the easier it takes root in a new place. It is best to buy an annual plant with a well-developed root system and aerial part, or at least a two-year-old. A closed root system, planted with a native clod of earth, is less injured during transplantation, but buying an open root, you can assess its condition, which is also not bad. The root should be healthy, without visible damage, small roots should not be dried out.

Planting can be done in spring and autumn, having prepared a place in advance, in the fall you need to have time to plant two, and preferably three weeks before the onset of frost, so that the roots have time to take root and form, if not new roots, then at least callus. A month and a half before that (and during spring planting from autumn), fertilizers are applied. The soil needs to be dug up well on a shovel bayonet, or even deeper, freed from all the roots, add compost or humus, superphosphate and potassium nitrate. Quince grows well on clay fertile soils, they live less on too light sandy soils, bear fruit worse, although it enters the fruiting period even earlier.

A hole for quince is dug wide, but not very deep, since its roots do not grow very deep, preferring to grow closer to the surface. The usual size is up to half a meter deep and 90 – 100 cm in diameter.

A layer of clay is placed at the bottom of the pit, and a long-term supply of nitrogen fertilizers (compost or humus) is placed on top, which should last for two to three years. From above, all this is sprinkled with garden soil, the straightened roots are placed and they are carefully covered in such a way as to ensure the greatest fit of the earth to the roots. Abundant watering also contributes to this, 2-3 buckets of water are poured under each seedling.

At the end of planting, the grafting site should be 3 cm below ground level. Usually, a new tree is tied to a strong peg driven into the middle of the hole, and then the ground around is mulched with compost, peat, humus, or just straw. In spring, a 5-centimeter layer is sufficient, and in autumn it is better to make it twice as thick.

Pruning a tree for the first and second year is very important for its formation, it is done in the spring. Proper planting should be the key to the healthy development of the plant, if it is well accepted, receives sufficient care, then fruiting will begin in two to four years.

Video “Growing”

From the video you will learn how to properly grow this fruit tree.

Features of fruiting

How quince blooms can be seen in the third or fourth year after planting it on the site, but whether this will lead to the appearance of fruits depends on several reasons. This culture is not self-fertile or conditionally self-fertile, as some experts cautiously express.

This does not mean that plants are divided into male and female, just that pollen from a tree of a different variety is needed for proper pollination. Although modern varieties do not need cross-pollination, according to the requests of their creators, it often happens that a profusely and regularly flowering quince bush or tree does not form a single fruit with proper agricultural technology. In this case, planting a different variety of quince nearby or grafting on the same tree can save the situation. Sometimes quince is grafted onto a pear that grows on the plot, which helps to improve the yield of both crops. Some summer residents claim that for cross-pollination it is enough to have distant relatives of quince in one area – apple trees and pears, but maybe they just came across a really self-fertile variety.

Another reason that the quince blooms, does not bear fruit, may be frost damage to the pistils and stamens. To be convinced of this, it is enough to look inside the flowers. But the reason is the frost that hit the green cone. The green cone is the period when the leaves have not yet formed, and the buds have already acquired moist softness and a blunt green tip, which is about to open with the first leaves. Quince blooms late, when the average daily temperature exceeds +17 degrees abroad, usually there are no return frosts at this time (May, or even June), so people do not even suspect that frost can damage flowers.

The differentiation of buds into leaf and fruit occurs in autumn (October – November) and spring (March – May), outwardly they do not differ in any way. Just when the time comes, flowers grow from the axils of some leaves. So at the green cone stage there are already fruit buds, more vulnerable and tender than all the others, frost can easily damage them. If the cold already comes in October, then the main work remains for the spring, the return frost can ruin it. It is not in vain that experienced gardeners monitor the air temperature, ready in April or even May to save tree branches by fumigation to protect them from frost with smoke.

Many gardeners in the spring before bud break carry out a preventive treatment for diseases and parasites, called blue spraying. Bordeaux liquid, which has a beautiful blue color, is sprayed on the whole tree, this pushes back for a while the moment the first leaves appear, that is, the green cone period comes a little later, thereby bypassing the return frosts. This helps to protect future flowers, such a bonus or side effect when protecting against diseases.

Growth conditions

It is believed that quince has spread throughout the world from Transcaucasia, it grows well in the Mediterranean, Southeast and Southwest Asia, wild trees and bushes settle on the banks of rivers, on forest edges. Not surprisingly, she prefers a lot of sunlight, tolerates heat well and does not bear fruit in drought. At home on our plots, we create suitable conditions for her – clay, moisture-retaining nutrient soil (she does not like acidic and salty soils), a sunny place. But it is much more difficult to lengthen the summer and make autumn warm, although breeders have tried to develop cold-resistant early ripening varieties that can survive severe winter frosts, and their crops ripen by the end of September.

Quince is a very courageous tree, it will grow even on sandy soils, lacking moisture, but the quality of the fruit will suffer from this. If the tree does not get the right amount of water, then the fruit will be smaller and even more hard and viscous.

Therefore, it is imperative to water it, and each time pour at least two buckets of water on the roots, and adult large trees will need all four.

In order for all branches and fruits to receive maximum sunlight, the density of the tree must be monitored, regularly cut out those branches that want to grow inside the crown, those that cover their neighbors from the sun. Each tree should be kept five meters away from other large trees or buildings so as not to hide in their shadow. Compliance with all these conditions, as well as agrotechnical rules, will ensure a rich harvest, and an adult tree can bring from 40 to 150 kg annually, and the ovaries are formed on branches of different ages, so there should be no periodicity.

Video “Blooming”

From the video you will learn how the ovary is formed on this tree.