That's a hard question to answer. If the tree is otherwise healthy and you want to conduct a little biology experiment, then go ahead and see what time brings you. The rusts that infect these fruit trees in the rose family are interesting to watch mature to the fungus fruiting stage, and should not infect other fruits on the same tree, But if the alternate host is around, you may see a bigger problem next year or the year after.

Hi larry gene, I picked up the idea from a blog devoted to making preserves and jellies. The author, and many many commentors, talked about successfully using ornamental quince, because they were finding it hard to find quince in their stores, so I thought I would try it--why not? I made it tonight. I was just using the windfalls, so I only had 5 or 6 smaller ones. After quartering, coring and peeling (more work than an apple, surprising how big the core & how many seeds in those little fruits. Next time I won't core or peel them, I will put them through a sieve after cooking to remove the pips etc ) I just put the fruit in a small glass pan with about 60% weight of sugar to the weight of the quince -- I was afraid of making it too sweet--about a half inch of water, and put it in the toaster oven. After 2 hours the fruit was soft, and tasted good, but was still yellow and syrupy. I left it another 2 hours and came back to find it ruby red and just right. Just had some on ice cream, couldn't wait till it was firm, and wow! love it. Gives a real pow in the mouth, sweet and tart. Can't wait to try it the portuguese way, with cheese.

Flowering quince is often used to make jelly.....the problem is the plant is not always inclined to produce much of a crop so you would probably need more than one or two shrubs to reliably generate sufficient fruit for preserving. Of the ones I've grown, a single quince or two at the most was a typical crop for a single shrub. IOW, they are far more ornamental in purpose than fruitful :-) In my climate, the shrub is semi-evergreen - it produces no fall color to speak of. It also tends to be thorny, suckers freely, has no discernible fragrance and can be prone to fireblight in areas where that is an issue. And I also agree about planting in full or as much sun as you can manage. More sun = more fruit! Espaliering it is very possible and an excellent way to grow the shrub......some of the most attractive flowering quinces I've seen (and this is not a highly attractive shrub under the best of circumstances) have been those grown as an espalier. Here is a link that might be useful: chaenomeles as a fruit crop

That's very interesting! I don't have any suggestions (and no longer live in MN). I'm on the Keweenaw Peninsula on the Michigan U.P. and our climate is a little more moderate. We planted two quince bushes this past spring and they seem to be doing well so far. I'd have to look at the tags though, to be able to tell you varieties, and of course have no history to go on yet and again, the slightly different climate. I'll be watching this thread with interest though!