Quince charming!
Now’s the ideal time to plant these versatile shrubs that light up spring
FLOWERING quinces are unlikely to turn heads in s u mmer, autumn or winter. Well, t hat ’s f i ne because these s h r u b s more than deserve their place in gardens with a stunning display of spring blossom. Masses of colourful blooms smother their bare branches in March and persist as leaves unfurl, often lasting well into May.
The cup- shaped flowers aren’t that big, measuring just an inch in diameter, but they make up for their modest size by appearing in great profusion. During a long flowering period, mature plants produce hundreds or thousands of single or double blooms that are borne singly or held in large clusters.
Apart from looking good in early spring, now is a good time to set flowering quinces in the ground for a show next year. Ranging in height from 2ft to 6ft, they are versatile shrubs that can be trained as fans or espaliers against walls and fences, added to shrub borders or planted as specimens in the open ground.
I’ve seen plants used to create compact, informal flowering hedges around the perimeter of properties. As the bushy shrubs are made up of branches armed with fairly vicious spines, they make an effective security barrier, whether you want to keep out people or animals. Set each plant about 2ft apart in a single row.
Originating f rom China and Japan, the plant’s botanical name is chaenomeles, deriving from the Greek words chaino and melon. It translates roughly as ‘gaping apple’, referring to the edible yellow, green or purplish fruit that adorn the shrub’s branches in autumn.
A member of the rose family, flowering quinces are a distant relative of Cydonia oblonga, a smallish, deciduous tree. Confusingly known as quince, the latter is really only grown for its large yellow fruit, which are used to make the classic Spanish paste membrillo, and does not mount such a spectacular display of flowers as its near namesake.
Conversely, the small, hard fruits of flowering quinces are not as tasty as those of the quince tree, but they are a passable substitute and can be turned into marmalades or chutneys.
The first flowering quince to arrive in Britain was Chaenomeles speciosa, a native of China that was planted at Kew Gardens in 1796 by Sir Joseph Banks. It was followed a century later by Chaenomeles japonica, a species from Japan that was introduced by Bristol-based nursery W. Maule & Son. C. speciosa is the parent of several good cultivars, such as ‘Geisha Girl’ and ‘Orange Storm’. However, it is C. x superba, a hybrid between C. speciosa and C. japonica, that has provided us with the majority of garden-worthy varieties, with flowers in shades of white, pink, red and orange. Flowering quinces are happy in just about any fertile, well- drained soil and will even cope with heavy clay, as l ong as t he ground is improved prior to planting with well-rotted manure or garden compost. These shrubs will tolerate a bit of shade but tend to flower more reliably when given a position in full sun.
Planting is easy. Dig a hole that’s slightly deeper than the rootball and three times as wide – if the soil is hard, spike the base and sides with a fork to encourage rooting. Place the plant in the centre, backfill with soil and firm gently. Water well, and spread a 3in mulch of bark, leafmould or garden compost over the surface.
These robust shrubs are largely trouble-free but do need pruning annually to keep them in good shape. Once they have finished flowering, shorten new growth by cutting back to six leaves and snip off any damaged stems.
Restore the vigour of congested specimens by completely removing a third of the oldest stems.
Masses of blooms smother branches from March till May