How to Grow Medlars USA

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Medlar (Mespilus germanica)
  2. At a Glance
  3. Quick Facts
  4. Soil & Growing Conditions
  5. Growth Stages
  6. Harvest & Storage
  7. Diseases
  8. Plan your Medlars planting
  9. Growing Medlar in another region
  10. Sources
  11. Frequently Asked Questions

Medlars (Mespilus germanica) — Deciduous tree, self-fertile and bee-pollinated -- only one tree is needed for a crop (RHS.

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Medlar (Mespilus germanica)

A medlar tree laden with ripe fruit in autumn — “Mespilus germanica-1” by Yaroslav Ivanovych is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

2 sources cited · Verified

At a Glance

Close-up of a medlar fruit showing its distinctive open eye — “Mespilus germanica 2024-09-24-3” by Renée Kools is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
“Mespilus germanica 2024-09-24-3” by Renée Kools is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Mespilus germanica Medlar Brown rot (apple) Powdery mildew Quince leaf blight DISEASES

Quick Facts

A medlar tree laden with ripe fruit in autumn — “Mespilus germanica-1” by Yaroslav Ivanovych is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Mespilus germanica-1” by Yaroslav Ivanovych is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Factor Value
Soil texture Tolerates a range; light, medium or heavy (PFAF)
Drainage Well-drained; tolerant of most soils except very chalky or poorly drained ground (RHS)
Lifecycle Deciduous tree, self-fertile and bee-pollinated -- only one tree is needed for a crop (RHS; PFAF). PFAF records 3-4 years to first fruiting.
Edible parts fruit

Soil & Growing Conditions

A whole medlar tree — “Mespilus germanica KZ03” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Mespilus germanica KZ03” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Water: Prefers moist soil but is drought-tolerant once established (PFAF); needs shelter from strong winds and late frosts (RHS).

Growth Stages

Medlar flower and leaves on a branch — “Mespilus germanica KZ02” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Mespilus germanica KZ02” by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Planting and establishment 0 Plant during dormancy, late autumn to early spring; stake young trees and site at least 5m from other trees or buildings, sheltered from wind and late frost (RHS). PFAF notes 3-4 years to first fruiting.
Vegetative growth 3 Train as bush (70-90cm clear trunk), half-standard (1.2-1.5m) or standard (1.8-2.1m) form; winter pruning removes only dead wood and congested shoots, since medlar is a tip-bearer and fruits on the ends of small side-shoots that must be left largely alone (RHS).
Flowering 6 Self-fertile and bee-pollinated -- only one tree is needed (RHS; PFAF). PFAF records flowering May-June.
Fruiting, harvest and bletting 8 Harvest October-November once fruit stalks detach easily (RHS). Fruit is hard and bitter straight from the tree and must be bletted -- laid out in a cool, dark, frost-free, well-ventilated place for 2-3 weeks until soft, darker brown and slightly wrinkled -- before it is edible (RHS).

Harvest & Storage

A pile of harvested medlar fruit — “Mespilus germanica - Medlar fruit. Vale View. Barrmill Park. North Ayrshire” by Rosser1954 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Mespilus germanica - Medlar fruit. Vale View. Barrmill Park. North Ayrshire” by Rosser1954 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: Pick October-November once stalks detach easily from the branch (RHS). PFAF records wild fruit at about 25mm diameter, cultivated varieties 65mm or more.

Storage

Blet on trays in a cool, dark, frost-free, well-ventilated place for 2-3 weeks until soft, darker brown and slightly wrinkled -- bletting converts starches to sugars and reduces acids and tannins, since unbletted fruit is hard and bitter (RHS; PFAF). Traditionally made into amber jelly, or eaten raw once bletted, with a flavour likened to apple puree with citrus, date and apricot notes (RHS).

Diseases

A medlar leaf and fruit on the branch — “Mespilus germanica Taradell 2” by Josepgesti is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Mespilus germanica Taradell 2” by Josepgesti is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Brown rot (apple)
low

Monilinia fructigena

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page as "brown rot"; recorded against the existing pome-fruit brown rot entity since medlar is a close pome-fruit relative of apple and quince.

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page as "powdery mildews".

Quince leaf blight
low

Diplocarpon mespili

Named directly on RHS's own growing-guide page, causing spotting and leaf drop; the same disease already linked to Quince, another close relative in the same tribe.

Plan your Medlars planting

When to sow and plant Medlars depends on your own frost dates. Check the USA vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

Growing Medlar in another region

Planting dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Plants For A Future (PFAF), Royal Horticultural Society) is in the references of our UK guide to medlars; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What problems affect medlars?

Our data links 3 diseases to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.

Plan next season before the problems start

Almost everything on this page resolves to your own frost dates rather than the calendar — the last spring frost moves by roughly two months between zone 3 and zone 10. The USA Garden Planner works from your zone so the timing is already decided before the season starts.

Get the USA Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for US growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — planting windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against USDA hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with Cooperative Extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides USA

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Last verified 2026-09-03

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