Pucia Super Mol is a large-fruited medlar cultivar from the Piedmont region of Italy, where it has long been preferred above all others. This frost-hardy tree grows 10 feet tall and thrives in hardiness zones 5 through 9, making it surprisingly cold-tolerant for a Mediterranean fruit. The unusual round fruits, about 1 inch in diameter, are harvested in fall after the first frosts, then undergo a fascinating transformation called 'bletting' over several weeks in cool storage, becoming soft and edible. Brought to the United States by Hill Craddock, this variety remains little known in North America despite medlars' thousands of years of cultivation in Europe.
Full Sun
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5-9
120in H x ?in W
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High
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Pucia Super Mol stands out as the preferred medlar variety from Italy's Piedmont region, valued for its notably large round fruits that develop deeper flavor through the natural bletting process. Unlike many fruit trees, it actually benefits from frost exposure, triggering the ripening transformation that makes the hard autumn harvest edible and complex. The tree's hardiness across zones 5 to 9 brings an Old World specialty crop within reach of most North American gardeners.
Medlar fruits from this tree are gathered in fall and allowed to blett, a slow ripening process that softens the hard autumn harvest into an edible fruit suitable for fresh eating, preserves, and traditional European medlar paste or cheese. The bletting process, which requires several weeks in cool storage after frost exposure, transforms the barely-edible hard fruit into something with complex, developed flavor.
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Pucia Super Mol is sold as a nursery-grown tree rather than seed. Plant in fall or early spring when the tree is dormant, spacing it where it will receive full sun exposure. Ensure the planting hole accommodates the root ball comfortably and amend heavy clay soils with compost to improve drainage.
Harvest Pucia Super Mol medlars in fall after the first frosts have exposed the fruits to cold. The fruits will be extremely hard and inedible at harvest time; pick them when they detach easily from the branch or after frost has naturally loosened them. Place the hard fruits in a cool, well-lit location for several weeks where they will gradually soften and darken through the bletting process, eventually becoming fragrant and suitable for eating when they yield slightly to gentle pressure.
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“This medlar originates from the Piedmont area of northern Italy, where it has been cultivated and selected as the preferred variety above all others. The modern North American introduction of Pucia Super Mol traces to Hill Craddock, who brought this Italian cultivar to the United States. Medlars themselves have been grown throughout Europe for thousands of years, and this particular strain represents Italy's refinement of a fruit type with deep historical roots across the continent.”