At the end of 2008, an Alternative Kitchen Garden Show listener offered me some medlar seeds in a seed swap. I potted them up, put them outside, and duly noted that they could take two years to germinate. I left the pots on the patio, and quickly learned not to bother looking at them too often. They grew the occasional weed, but that was it.
But this spring, a seedling has emerged. It’s almost in the centre of the pot, which suggests planting rather than self-seeding. I do not recognise it; it has rather pretty toothed leaves and a red stem. The leaves don’t look entirely like medlar leaves, but the juvenile leaves could be different, it’s not that unusual.
Could this be a medlar seedling? I can’t find an image on the internet to compare it to – medlars are usually grafted onto a rootstock for propagation, as they take so long to germinate.
I asked the supplier of the seeds what he thought – he trundled out to look at his tree and came back to say that the leaves were similar, and his tree does indeed have a red tinge to its foliage.
The timing is right – the seeds have been through two winters and could be ready to emerge. Is it a medlar seedling? Has anyone seen one, and so can confirm or deny?