Medlars can also be propagated, with some difficulty, by other standard methods. The seeds need cool, moist stratification, but may not germinate until their second spring, especially if seed is not fresh when sown. And, of course, seedlings will bear fruit somewhat different from the parent tree. Softwood cuttings can be rooted but, as I said, with some difficulty.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in late autumn in a cold frame. The seed has a very hard and impermeable seedcoat and will not usually germinate until it has gone through two winters. Commercially, such seeds are soaked for a short while in sulphuric acid to break down the seed coat and allow the seed to take up moisture. A home gardener could try soaking the seed for 24 hours in warm water then cold stratifying it for 2 - 3 months before sowing it. Alternatively, if you can harvest the seed green (as soon as it is mature but before the seed coat has dried and hardened), then sow it immediately in a cold frame you might reduce the time needed for it to germinate.