Tejocote, cold tolerance and more

[BloomAndSprout]

In the fall I picked up two Tejocote (Craeteagus mexicana) from Wanderlust Nursery; among other things, I intend to try to cross this with medlar to see what kind of result I would get.  (Thank you SO much wanderlust, you released these right when I was really wanting them and asking about them on this forum! But no one else was selling!) Does anyone have experience with these?  What is their cold tolerance?  I would assume, based on the family it's in and its genus/being a hawthorn, it would be at least cold hardy to 6b; sources online are inconsistent and Wanderlust Nursery states 7b, which is normally fine except for the freak winter storms we get that seem to be more common yearly.  I assume my location in Arkansas, 7b, should suffice, but I'd like some more thoughts before I plant one as I could leave both in pots.

How does the fruit compare/contrast with other hawthorns?

In my non-expert opinion, the Rosaceae family has a lot of unexplored potential for crossbreeding, I am probably the only person on this forum to have a Stern's medlar (mysterious hawthorn/medlar hybrid discovered in Arkansas with unclear parentage and origin, probably sterile; not obtainable online and only from one nursery in the middle of nowhere that no longer ships... unless a botanical garden with one helps you out) which is so rare and uncommon that there's no published comparison of its taste to regular medlar. This plant apparently produces a red pome instead of the bark-brown of the standard. Ergo, I think there's fun to be had with crossbreeding these and see what I get.

[vnomonee]

I tasted this fruit back in November, found some at a Hispanic grocery store. The fruit is creamy like a guava, but more dense. Reminds me more of a quince than a Hawthorne (I've tried candied Chinese Hawthorne "tangulu" the bigger red fruit variety and that was "better" flavor wise). I wouldn't eat these tejocote raw again but I cooked the fruit in a syrup which softened them and improved the flavor. It has a "festive" taste, I can see these being used to make a mulled cider type of beverage.

I planted all of the seeds outside, I am in zone 7a so we'll see what pops up in the spring. I'm going to test the hardiness, I read they are hardy to 5f but I feel like these should be hardier.

[BloomAndSprout]

Yeah, I know right?  They really feel like they should be hardier than advertised. The plant looks like a typical Craetaegus. Maybe they are.  These nurseries all really guess at the cold hardiness of many of these plants...

[BloomAndSprout]

I tasted this fruit back in November, found some at a Hispanic grocery store. The fruit is creamy like a guava, but more dense. Reminds me more of a quince than a Hawthorne (I've tried candied Chinese Hawthorne "tangulu" the bigger red fruit variety and that was "better" flavor wise). I wouldn't eat these tejocote raw again but I cooked the fruit in a syrup which softened them and improved the flavor. It has a "festive" taste, I can see these being used to make a mulled cider type of beverage.

I planted all of the seeds outside, I am in zone 7a so we'll see what pops up in the spring. I'm going to test the hardiness, I read they are hardy to 5f but I feel like these should be hardier.

Just a heads up, this plant is susceptible to cedar rust so spray it regularly every early season.

[vnomonee]

Thuja occidentalis (eastern white cedar) is all over here as privacy hedges so we get rust. The property here also has it on the perimeter so its unavoidable. My seeds never sprouted so we'll see what comes up. I'll keep any seedlings that look more resistant like I did with my quince seedlings