Meech's Prolific Quince Trees

• Variety: Meech's Prolific, the heavy-cropping Quince
• Latin name: Cydonia oblonga 'Meech's Prolific'
• Fruit: Pear-shaped, golden-yellow, very downy and highly scented
• Harvest: Early October
• Use: Culinary: jelly, quince cheese, pies, slow cooking with meat
• Self-fertile: Yes. One tree crops on its own
• Rootstock: Quince A
• Mature size: 4 to 5m tall by 2.5 to 4m wide
• Position: Full sun, warm and sheltered
• Soil: Deep and moisture-retentive, not waterlogged
• Hardiness: H5, hardy through a cold winter
• Sold as: Bareroot maiden, bush or half-standard
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Meech's Prolific is a self-fertile Quince that carries regular, heavy crops of Pear-shaped, scented golden fruit, ready in early October. On Quince A it makes a tree 4 to 5 metres tall, and it wants a warm, sheltered place in full sun to ripen its fruit well.

Meech's Prolific Quince Trees

Meech's Prolific is the official name, but it's spelt Meeches in plenty of places so take your pick. This is one of the three best grafted fruiting quinces for the British climate, the others being Vranja and Serbian Gold.
Meech's Prolific is self-fertile and carries good crops of large, highly scented golden fruit, which are ready for picking around early October when the skin turns a glorious golden yellow. They can be real whoppers, up to half a kilo, in ideal conditions, usually in the South of England and Wales.

Browse our range of quince trees or our full variety of fruit trees.

Quinces are extremely hardy, but they do need a good summer to crop well. In Britain, this means that they're reliable as far North as Yorkshire, as long as they have a sheltered sunny South facing spot. All quinces have decorative flowers (these are slightly pink) and make ideal subjects for a sunny wall, where they're easy to train on wires. For those who try to bring more aromas into the garden, the fruit on the tree is deliciously fragrant. We have one at home which fills the garden with scent in October when its quinces are ripe and almost everything else has shut up shop for the winter.

The three classic uses for quinces are stewed slowly with meats, mixed with other fruit to make fillings for pies (with apple or pear and blackcurrant is a good combo), or used to make Quince cheese, jam or jelly/marmalade. Quince liquor is popular in several European countries: look out for Polish Pigwa (pronounced Pigva) Vodka if you want to give it a try, it's pretty easy to find in the UK.

Planting Companions

Meech's Prolific is the heavy cropper, and Serbian Gold is the Quince that best shrugs off leaf blight, so the pair cover you in a wet summer. Vranja is the third of our Quinces. A few slices of Quince lift an Apple pie, so an Apple tree nearby earns its place, and soft fruit fills the ground beneath a young orchard.

Why Ashridge for Quince?

Grown for us in open ground, and lifted the week it travels, your Meech's Prolific is on Quince A rootstock. Maidens are pre-pruned before despatch, and bareroot trees are guaranteed for 12 months. Ashridge has sold plants since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you eat a Quince raw?

Not a great idea. A raw Quince is hard, astringent and gritty, and cooking transforms it. In the UK every Quince we sell is a fruit for the kitchen: jelly, membrillo, pies and roasts.

Which Quince resists leaf blight best?

Serbian Gold, on the evidence of the wet summer of 2023 at RHS Wisley. On any Quince, clear and burn the fallen leaves in autumn, because the disease overwinters on them. No fungicides are approved for domestic use.

Do you need two Quince trees?

No. Meech's Prolific is self-fertile, so one tree on its own will crop.

Who was Meech?

The Rev. William Meech, an American clergyman, who promoted it in his 1888 book Quince Culture as the most uniformly prolific variety. Its origin is disputed: one account says Connecticut, and Hedrick records it at Vineland, New Jersey, sent out in 1883.

How big does Meech's Prolific grow?

About 4 to 5 metres tall and 2.5 to 4 metres wide on Quince A, which is the rootstock for all our Quinces. Allow several years for it to reach that size.

Will it fruit in the north of Britain?

The tree is hardy, but the blossom is tender to frost and the fruit needs warmth to ripen. Give it your warmest, most sheltered spot. We find Quinces reliable as far north as Yorkshire on a sunny south-facing site.