Who Eats a Quince?

There's a duality to quince. It's beautiful and dangerous. It flowers or it fruits (depending on the species). I love it and I hate it. I deal with the dilemmas because it's the first of the flowering branches I get each winter, and it's popular with my customers. 

I get my quince from Wollam Gardens. Bob harvests in mid to late January when the branch is just barely in bud. He then stores the cuts in a greenhouse at 55 degrees to mimic spring conditions. This technique is called forcing. It causes the flowers to open more quickly than they would in the cold field. In the case with quince, the blooms will open 2-3 months earlier than they would without help. The buds take about three weeks to open in Bob's greenhouse - just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Harvesting quince can be a challenge due to the thorns. They can be up to an inch long and very sharp. They are also ridged and unforgiving. It's an evolutionary defense against predators (including farmers). They're effective. The thorns make these branches very unpleasant to handle, carry and transport. If florists weren't desperate for some winter local color, they might be left undisturbed.

Some of my favorite varieties are bi-colored Toyo Nishiki in pink and white, true white Nivalis and peach-colored Cameo. I struggle whether 'tis nobler to suffer the thorns of quince in a design or to just sell it by the stem wrapped in protective craft paper. Again, the duality. If I can get away with it - I choose the paper over the vase. My customers will buy it. They are happy to have these long-lasting branches blooming in their homes for a few weeks before their gardens begin to blossom.

There are new thornless varieties which are gaining some traction as cuts. Double Take is a thornless series that comes in white and peach. Scarlet is another in red (duh). The thornless varieties I've seen are shorter and more manageable for bouquets and mixed vase arrangements. Bonus.

Flowering quince and fruiting quince are often confused. While they share a name, they are not the same thing. Flowering quince (Chaenomeles) is prized as a cut ornamental branch, showcasing vibrant blossoms in shades of red, pink, or white during late winter and early spring. In contrast, fruiting quince (Cydonia oblonga) is cultivated for its fragrant, yellow, apple-like fruit, which is used especially for jams, jellies, and desserts.

I suffer quince for just a few weeks. It is soon replaced with with safer cherry, peach and plum - flowering branches I can work with. Who eats a quince?

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