JAPANESE QUINCE

The spring bulbs are always a welcome sight but they aren’t the only plants to herald the end of winter. There quite a few spring flowering shrubs but for me there isn’t much to beat the exquisite flowers and brilliant colours of the Japanese quince (chaenomeles). The flowers, which are so perfect they almost seem unreal, come just before or as the leaves are opening and give an eye catching display for many weeks. They grow in small clusters on older branches.

All members of this family are deciduous with glossy foliage but they do carry a ‘comfort’ warning. Their thorns are long and very sharp. I learnt this to my cost some years ago when my father gave me a plant from his garden and I brought it home secured to the passenger seat of my car. Every time there was a bend in the road my new acquisition reminded me that it was there in quite a painful way. On the other hand, if you are planning a hedge the thorns could be quite a bonus. The fruit are edible and can be used instead of the true quince which is quite a different plant.

Once established pruning is fairly minimal, although this does depend on how you are using your plants. If you are dealing with a hedge a light trim should be enough to keep them neat and tidy. Free-standing specimens also can be kept in good order with a small amount of pruning. This is best done in the spring, after flowering has finished, and then in late summer cut out overcrowded stems from the base. If your plant is growing against a wall the same rules apply, lightly prune after flowering and again in late summer, when you should shorten outward-facing shoots down to a couple of leaves and remove any unwanted growth. Tie in any long shoots that you are keeping to increase the size of the plant or that are being used to replace old stems. Remove any dead shoots as soon as you see them as chaenomeles can be prone to coral spot. This is easily identified by the colour of pustules that appear on the bark. If left this can spread to healthy tissues and eventually kill the plant.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here