Chaenomeles
Zone: 5
Light: Full Sun
Bloom time: April (and sometimes they rebloom in September!)
Flower Color: white, pink, orange, red or peach
Fragrant: No
Mature Size: 6 tall and 10 feet wide
Chaenomeles (Flowering Quince) is an easy to grow, round-topped, deciduous shrub growing 6 feet tall and 10 feet across, with - let's be honest- beastly thorns. BUT this thorny beast becomes laden with showy spring blossoms.
When planting this very sturdy and low maintenance shrub you have two options: for those of you who (like most of us) would prefer to avoid battle scars while gardening, plant your Quince in full sun somewhere where you can admire its profusion of blooms from a distance in a flowering hedge.
But for the brave gardeners (with heavy leather gloves) this shrub can be pruned every year to keep it a manageable size. Flowering Quince can also be espaliered (trained to grow against a wall) and is a popular bonsai choice. Pruning the quince has the added benefit of encourages better blooming.
Flowering quince will produce a hard, pear-like fruit. These tart fruit can be used in jelly making.
Fruit from 'Toyo Nishiki'.
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