Q : Germinating woody seeds - Quince

[HelixStalwart]

I have been given a number of seeds from a Quince shrub which I am interested in seeing if I can germinate, and I'd appreciate some guidance please.

The adult plant is a Quince shrub, about four to five feet tall with many small golfball sized fruits. It tends to hold its leaves most of the year and though it sets fruit mainly in the autumn, tends to have a few all year round.

The seeds look like apple seeds, hard and brown. They came from a fully ripe fruit. I have discarded the small infertile ones.

Can these larger plump seeds be germinated? If so, how do I go about this please? I understand they need a cold period.

If I could germinate them, what time of year should I try to do this? If I do it now, will I end up having to nursemaid a growing plant all winter indoors because we have long wet winters here in southern Scotland.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[zxcvbob]

Wrap the seeds in a damp papertowel in a small covered jar or plastic bag and put them in your refrigerator. Check on them about once or twice a month. They'll probably germinate in the fridge in couple of months and you can transplant to small pots and nurse them thru the rest of winter.

You might want to put some in now and save the rest until January or so.

If it's as much like an apple as I suspect, You can also just put a whole quince in the refrigerator for a few months and when you take it out some of the seeds will be germinating inside the fruit.

Best regards, Bob