Topic: when should I pick my quince fruit?

[cacran]

I have fruit on my quince bush and would like to know when I should harvest it, please?

[saddad]

If it is a true quince, it will be a tree, leave them on as long as possible... if a bush it's a Japanese quince then I don't know... true quince have pale pink or white flowers, Japanese are usually bright red if you can remember it in flower.

[gavinjconway]

Cacran is it a Japonica type or a true quince?

Japonica is a small sometimes thorny bush or creeper on the wall and the fruit is small like up to a golf ball size - at the moment they are grass green and will go yellow when ready. The true quince is like an apple tree and fruit gets much bigger - like up to cricket ball size. Currently they are still green and have a furry finish to them. They will all be ready in about October ish..

[Palustris]

Gavin is being a little mean with the size of fruit on Chaenomeles, ours get cricket ball sized fruits. Agree about the ripeness. Both  types taste the same and may be used in the same way.

[Digeroo]

The Chaenomeles normally have very pretty coloured flowers.  Can be any colour from white through pink to dark red.  Mine is salmon pink.  My fruits are normally cricket ball sized as well.  I find them  very hard to peel.  But they make a very nice addition to an apple pie.

[Palustris]

If you are making Quince jelly then you do not need to peel them, only slice so they can be puréed.

[sparrow]

I have fruit on my quince bush and would like to know when I should harvest it, please?

If it's a bush, leave them on till they have turned colour to yellow, rather than picking them when they are green. Should be about another month - be patient! :)

[telboy]

cacran did state it was a bush, so Palustris' & sparrow's advice with the fruit sounds fine.
My own has always been called a 'japanese' quince (35 years old now) and I don't pick the fruit until the first frost.
I agree with Palustris, although I do deseed the fruit.
Exquisite jelly!!

[gavinjconway]

Gavin is being a little mean with the size of fruit on Chaenomeles, ours get cricket ball sized fruits. Agree about the ripeness. Both  types taste the same and may be used in the same way.

Mmmmm - interesting. I've never seen them that size.

[aj]

You can usually smell them when ready. Lovely.

[Palustris]

We often use one as an air freshener in the Hall.

[Digeroo]

We often use one as an air freshener in the Hall.

Nice until it gets covered with something and starts to rot.

Best picked before the first frost, or before they start falling off.

[cacran]

Mine must be the Japanese type as it is a bush and has red flowers. The fruit is green at the moment, so I will wait until it is yellow before picking it. Can I use it the same as true quince as all my recipes just say quince?

[sparrow]

Mine must be the Japanese type as it is a bush and has red flowers. The fruit is green at the moment, so I will wait until it is yellow before picking it. Can I use it the same as true quince as all my recipes just say quince?

Yep. Hope they are turning now.

[cacran]

The fruit is still green, shall I  still wait for them to turn yellow?

[gavinjconway]

Yeah wait till they go yellow and have a very sweet fragrance to them.