Medlar Growing Guide
Growing Medlar is easier than you think. This guide walks you through everything you need — from planting your first seed to harvesting.
At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Tree Fruit
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -29°C
Plant Family
Rosaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Perennial
Also grows well as
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Plant a bare-root grafted tree while dormant. It's self-fertile and undemanding — a naturally small, picturesque, low-care tree.
A charming, hardy heritage tree with big white blossom and small brown fruit. The quirk: medlars are 'bletted' — picked hard in late autumn, then stored until they soften and brown into a spiced-apple, date-like pulp. Eaten any earlier they're rock-hard and sour. Self-fertile and almost pest-free.
When To Start
First Chance to Plant
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Last Chance to Plant
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When should you plant Medlar?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Medlar Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
The Journey Ahead
Medlar's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
400 cm
Plant Spacing
500 cm
Row Spacing
Vertical Growing
No.
Succession Planting
No.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Medlar is about as easy as fruit trees get — full sun, any decent soil, minimal pruning, few pests.
- 2The only thing to learn is bletting: pick hard, then wait until the fruit softens and browns before eating.
- 3Lovely blossom and autumn colour make it a fine ornamental too.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
400 cm
Mature Height
400 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
21 days
When to Pick
Pick hard after the first frosts, then BLET (store until soft and brown) before eating
How to Harvest
- 1Leave the fruit on the tree until late autumn, after a frost or two, then pick it hard.
- 2To eat, 'blet' it: lay the fruit out (eye-down) somewhere cool for 2–3 weeks until it goes soft, brown and squidgy — then spoon out the sweet, spiced pulp.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
Seed Production
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