Serbian Gold Quince Trees

• Variety: Serbian Gold, best for taste and disease resistance
• Latin name: Cydonia oblonga 'Serbian Gold'
• Fruit: Rounded, Apple-shaped, greenish-yellow ripening to yellow, highly aromatic
• Harvest: Late September to early October
• Use: Culinary: jelly, membrillo, roasting
• 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, fertile, moist but well-drained
• Hardiness: H5, hardy through a cold winter
• RHS AGM: Yes (2017)
• Sold as: Bareroot maiden, bush or half-standard
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Serbian Gold is a self-fertile Quince with rounded, aromatic yellow fruit for the kitchen, and it holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit. On Quince A it makes a tree 4 to 5 metres tall. In the very wet summer of 2023 it kept its leaves in the RHS collection at Wisley, when Quinces prone to leaf blight nearly lost theirs.

Serbian Gold Quince Trees

Serbian Gold quince trees are stunningly ornamental. The aromatic fruits are picked earlier than most, in late September, and ripened indoors for at least a fortnight before use in the kitchen.
Healthy and self-fertile, they produces heavy crops of fragrant, apple-shaped fruits. Quinces are tip bearing fruit trees which means that it take a bit longer for them to reach full cropping. The fruit can be huge, between 0.5 and 1kg, and they're incredibly fragrant. Not only do they perfume a house, on a sunny day with a gentle breeze the fragrance can fill a garden.

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

They're fantastic in jellies and jams, and can be made into membrillo, a quince 'cheese'. They can be added to pies and tarts and are particularly good roasted with dark meats and game. You can also quickly bake them like a cooking apple.

Garden Design Ideas

With attractive bark, beautiful large leathery foliage with good autumn colour and abundant pink blossom in spring the ornamental qualities of this quince cannot be overstated.
The fruits are a wonderful bonus and provide a rich spicy-sweet fragrance that will drift around the garden, to make the most of it plant near an entrance to the house or garden.

They look good fan trained on a south facing wall, and benefit from the warmth and shelter especially in exposed gardens. Being self-fertile they're happy on their own as specimen trees.

Planting Companions

Serbian Gold needs no partner. If you want quantity, plant another Serbian Gold. For a contrast in shape, its fruit is rounded where Vranja and Meech's Prolific are Pear-shaped. The Nottingham Medlar grows on the same rootstock with the same care, and its fruit also finishes ripening off the tree. Pear trees are close relatives: they are grafted onto Quince roots. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Buy Your Quince Tree from Ashridge?

Field grown specifically for us and lifted fresh to order, your Serbian Gold is on Quince A rootstock, and maidens are pre-pruned before despatch for the form you choose. 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.

Does Serbian Gold resist Quince leaf blight?

Better than most. In the very wet summer of 2023, its leaf spots stayed small at RHS Wisley and the leaves stayed on, while prone varieties nearly defoliated. No fungicides are approved for domestic use, so clear and burn fallen leaves in autumn.

Do you need two Quince trees?

No. Serbian Gold is self-fertile, so one tree on its own will crop.

How big does Serbian Gold 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.

How do you prune a Quince?

Lightly, in winter. A Quince fruits mainly at the tips of last year's shoots, so do not shorten every shoot as you would on a spur-pruned Apple, or you cut off next year's crop. Shape a young tree to an open centre.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot only, from November to April, while the trees are dormant. You can order at any time of year and your tree is lifted and sent once the season opens.