North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[dwoodard@becon.org]

Some of the recent comments about the coldhardiness of quince seem to 
me a little optimistic. The late Dr. Gus Tehrani of the then 
Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario at Vineland Station on 
the north shore of the Niagara Peninsula, told me around 1986 or a 
little later that HRIO trials had found that Quince A was quite 
reliable to the north of the Niagara Escarpment on the low land near 
Lake Ontario (Agriculture Canada zone 7a), but it was not 
satisfactory for long periods above the escarpment in zone 6b. 

For comparison, commercial peach growing is carried on to some extent 
above the escarpment in the more favourable areas of 6b, but it is a 
little tricky and one would not want to be totally reliant on peaches 
there. 

The late Nafex member I. B. Lucas grew pears on Quince A succesfully 
at Markdale, Ontario (21 miles SExS of Owen Sound which is at the 
base of the Bruce peninsula) in Agriculture Canada zone 5a, but he 
did it in a walled garden in an area with very heavy and reliable 
snow cover.

I understand that Quince C is a little more cold-tender than quince A 
and was found not satisfactory in the Niagara peninsula.

Dr. Tehrani believed that Quince A was favourable for avoiding 
fireblight due to the lack of secondary blossom of pears on quince. 
The secondary blossom is apparently a major route of fireblight into 
the tree.

Dr. Tehrani favoured an 8 inch length of Anjou as a compatible 
interstem. 

Dr. Tehrani told me that Bosc on quince planted at the station in 
1935 were still producing the best Boscs on the station in 1986.

Douglas Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario (7 miles east of Vineland)


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