Meech's Prolific is a popular quince variety, ripening at the end of September or early October in most locations.
The fruit should be picked and then stored in a cool place for a few weeks - it is ripe when it turns a golden yellow colour. The fruit has a distinctive fragrant smell and is ideal for culinary purposes, either on its own or mixed with apples.
Meerch's Prolific also produces attractive spring blossom, and has some ornamental value in the garden.
**All prices include delivery. We offer a discount on orders of multiple bare-root trees for delivery at the same time - this will be shown at the checkout.
Delivery period: Pot-grown trees can be delivered from September onwards. Bare-root trees can be delivered from mid-November onwards. Within those periods you can specify your preferred month of delivery during the checkout process. It is best to order as soon as you can to ensure items are reserved for you.
*Mature heights: Height shown is the approximate height of the tree when mature (after 5-10 years), not the height when supplied. See photos of trees as supplied. Actual mature heights may vary considerably dependent on your local conditions and training and pruning regime.
Stock availability: Items showing as 'sold out' will probably be available again next season. If you would like to reserve in advance use our enquiry form - this does not commit you to anything.
Meech's Prolific is self-fertile and does not need a pollination partner, although fruiting may be improved if there is a compatible tree of a different variety nearby.
Important: advice about pollination
Quinces start fruiting after the are about 3-5 years old, but Meech's Prolific is notably precocious and sometimes starts fruiting after 2-3 years. Meech's Prolific is, as the name suggests, a heavy cropping variety - to get the best flavour and fruit size it helps to thin the crop in May if it looks like there are too many fruitlets.
Like most quinces, Meech's Prolific prefers a warm dry aspect but can be grown successfully throughout most of England as long as you take care over its location.
Meech's Prolific is self-fertile and no pollination partner is required. Once established it generally requires little or no pruning.
Planting instructions.
Pruning instructions.
Named after 19th century quince enthusiast William Witler Meech, from New Jersey, USA. In 1888 Meech published a book called "Quince Culture" which remains one of the most comprehensive resources about growing quince trees. It can be viewed online here, and is also available in print from Amazon. Meech states that this variety originated from Connecticut, and was originally called the Pear-Shaped Orange Quince - but it soon became known as Meech's Prolific.
