I really like the fruits of medlar. And I buy them often enough. They are rich in potassium salts and vitamin A, which is especially necessary for our body in the cold season. And the taste of the fruit is very unusual. It harmoniously combines the tastes of sour cherries and juicy pears, fragrant peach and ripe mango, as well as the pronounced notes inherent in citruses are felt.
A few years ago, I once again bought the fruits of medlar. And I decided to try to grow this exotic plant from the seeds contained in them.
For my botanical experiment, I prepared a soil mixture, mixing peat, compost, plain earth from the garden and washed river sand in equal proportions. In order to destroy the pathogens contained in the soil and the larvae of pests, I calcined it in the oven. Now I could not worry about the health of my seedlings.
To prevent moisture from lingering in the pot, a third filled it with fine pebbles. Expanded clay can also be used for this purpose - a well-recognized and long-tested drainage by plant growers. And already on top of the drainage layer, the prepared soil mixture fell asleep, leaving 3-3.5 cm to the top.
After that I moistened the soil well with the settled water at room temperature, put the medlar seeds on its surface and sprinkled them with a thin layer of soil (no more than 1.5-2.0 cm). She covered the pot with cling film from above, that is, she created a mini-greenhouse for her crops, which she placed on the sunny windowsill of the south window.
Shoots appeared exactly a month later. I can’t pick up the words, how pleasant it was to me. She took care of the seedlings with all her might. It is important that direct sunlight does not fall on the plants, but at the same time the temperature should not fall below + 18 C. Drafts are also not needed, but ventilation is simply necessary, otherwise seedlings may rot. And pour them for the same reason should not be. Even condensation from the film must be regularly removed. But at the same time, drying out the soil should not be allowed.
In general, medlar is still that whim. However, my small plants developed normally and soon rose to the level of the film, then I removed it. I watched, watered twice a week. A month later, the trees were already 12-15 cm tall. Then I transplanted them individually into pots with a capacity of about 2 liters.
Here is a story. My medlar winters in the apartment, and in the summer it flaunts in the garden in a partial shade pleasant for her. By the way, flowering began 2 years after planting, in late autumn. And by the New Year, the tree gave me my favorite fruits.
Some gardeners prune trees. Do this only after they have faded. But I prefer natural beauty and therefore left my medlar as it is.
