Photo: Jules Grandgagnage, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Pruning guide · Fruit tree
Medlar: when and how to prune
Mespilus germanica
Prune a medlar in winter, in December–February, when it is not freezing: lightly, as the flowers form at the shoot tips and the tree naturally grows into a lovely, twisting shape.
Medlar is a small, spreading fruit tree with twisting branches that often droop a little. It needs hardly any pruning: the shape comes naturally, and its large white flowers sit singly at the tips of the shoots. Shorten those and you get no flowers and no fruit. As with quince, you give a young tree a good shape, and later only remove what is dead, diseased or in the way.
| Pruning months | December–February |
|---|---|
| Nesting season (15 March–15 August) | Outside it |
| Flowering | May–June |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | Yes, for bees and birds |
| Native to Belgium | Yes, long naturalised |
Medlar: when to prune it?
Prune in winter, in December–February, once the leaves have fallen and you can see the branches clearly. Choose a dry, frost-free day.
First pick the fruit, in late October–November, and let it blet. Whatever you leave on the tree is winter food for birds: prune around it.
Cut out diseased shoots, such as twigs with fireblight, as soon as you see them, even in summer.
What else to prune in those months? January · February · December
Medlar: how to prune it?
- In the first few years, shape a young tree into a trunk with three to five well-spaced main branches.
- On an older tree, remove dead wood and crossing or rubbing branches. If the crown is too dense, remove a few whole branches rather than shortening all the shoots: that way you spare the flowers at their tips.
- Medlar branches often droop. If they hang too low over the lawn or a path, cut them back to a side branch that sits higher and points further outwards.
- A medlar is usually grafted onto hawthorn, quince or pear. Remove shoots that come from below the graft or from the ground: otherwise the rootstock takes over.
- Work with clean, sharp secateurs, and disinfect them after cutting out diseased branches.
- Saw thicker branches off just outside the branch collar, without a stub, and heavy branches in two stages, so the bark does not tear.
How much to cut, and how often?
- Lightly: a few branches per winter, and often only every few years.
- Never remove more than about a fifth of the crown at once: it responds to hard pruning with lots of upright water shoots.
- Thin an old, dense medlar over a few winters, each time with a few whole branches.
What does it mean for wildlife?
- Winter pruning falls outside the nesting season (15 March–15 August): so you won’t disturb any breeding birds. In spring, though, blackbirds and chaffinches sometimes nest in the broad, twisting crown.
- In late May the medlar flowers with large white blooms, late enough to escape the night frosts in most years, and welcome to honeybees, bumblebees and wild bees.
- Leave some of the fruit on the tree: after frost it softens, and blackbirds, thrushes and fieldfares eat it in winter.
- In April–May, winter moth caterpillars feed on the young leaves. Don’t spray: tits eat a lot of them, especially if there is a nest box nearby. Healthy prunings can go on a dead hedge.
Common mistakes
- Shortening all the shoots every winter, so the flowers at their tips are lost.
- Trying to force the tree into a strict shape, when its twisting growth is exactly what gives it charm.
- Letting shoots from the rootstock grow on.
- Pruning in frost, or cutting out diseased branches without disinfecting the secateurs.
Caution: Don’t prune in frost, and disinfect your secateurs when cutting out diseased branches.
Nearby: related pruning guides
Similar to: Difference from quince