Medlar (mespilus germanica) I made an experiment with a grafted medlar tree that i was trying to get to grow on its own roots. So i planted the grafted tree of the "Suessmispel" (sweet medlar) variety really low down into the ground, hoping that it would grow roots above the graft union. 2 years later i dug away the earth and it hadn't made roots, so i moved it. But what had happened was that the tree grew in a Y shape, so it had 2 main stems. I planted it in a different spot and last year, walking past it, i thought i could braid them together to form an arch. So i twisted and tied the two branches together and then took off the strings this winter. The result will be a curious, funny tree that forms an arch, somewhat like a portal or a doorway that children might be able to go through one day.

The sweet medlar is a variety that's supposed to be edible before bletting but i find that that's not true. It doesn't taste good before it's ripe, but when it's ripe it tastes really good. Fruit are medium size.


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