This small fruited strain of medlar is ideal for late fall early winter consumption. The fruit 'blets' or freezes and thaws leaving a creamy pear like texture with a flavor much like a pear and apple combined. The Ecos strain was collected from a nursery that specialized in fruits for birds and then established at our farm on a sandy bluff. This is the most productive of the medlars we have with double the yields of the large grafted types but the fruit is half the size of the grafted types.
To germinate the seed: The seeds for 2021 have gone through a single dormancy so now all you have to do is refrigerate for 90-120 days. Add a moist soil media around the seeds like slightly damp Canadian peat moss. The seeds may sprout during refrigeration so keep an eye out for the split shells.
| Plant Specs |
| Genus & Species |
Mespilus germanica |
| Seed Source |
Michigan Ecos |
| Height (ft) |
10-20 |
| Soil |
Easy to grow from rock to sand to clay. |
| Climate |
Zone 3-9 Can grow in dry desert type environments. |
| Ease of Cultivation |
Easy to grow from seed, once the seed coat is worn down. Germinates and grows slow at first but puts on a sizable tap root just like hawthorn does. Best is full sun. Can run into issues with rust on the fruit once in a while and fireblight but we think our strain appears to be highly resistant if not immune to it. |
