Quince (Cydonia oblonga) trees are self-fertile, but will be more productive with a pollen partner. In spring, toward the end of apple bloom, the tree will produce showy, white or pink blooms on new growth. Like other pome fruits it should be lightly pruned in winter when fully dormant, and it is usually trained into a vase or open-centered tree as its growth habit does not lend itself to a strong central leader. Quince is susceptible to fireblight. Although pear trees can be grafted onto quince rootstocks, the reverse is not true, and quince will not thrive on a pear rootstock. 

Pineapple Quince is ripe when it is fully yellow and snaps off the tree easily. The fruit is large, smooth, and golden-yellow, shaped like a fat pear (or a long apple). It is named for its distinctly pineapple flavor when processed into jelly. Here is a recipe: Quince Jelly. Try it for yourself! What really sets Pineapple Quince apart, however, is that when fully ripe it is sweet enough to eat like an apple, with no processing.

Although quince is no longer a popular fruit in contemporary America, it was revered in Ancient Greece and Middle East as the fruit of love and happiness, and it may have been the infamous "apple" of the Garden of Eden (The biblical name for quince translates as "golden apple".) In colonial America, the fruit was a valuable source of pectin and flavoring for jams, jellies, and candies. Pineapple Quince was developed along with Van Deman quince by Luther Burbank in the late 1800's. His goal was to breed a quince that could be eaten with less processing than the hard, tart traditional quinces.