How to Grow Flowering Quinces
Known botanically as Chaenomeles speciosa, flowering quince is a fast-growing, deciduous shrub with serrated leaves and red, white, pink or orange blossoms that blanket that plant in the late winter or early spring. Flowering quince shrubs make attractive hedges or ornamental specimens in gardens and home landscapes in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 4 through 8. For all its showy beauty, flowering quince has relatively simply cultivation needs. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Sphagnum peat moss
- Composted pine bark
- Perlite
- Garden hose
- Water-soluble fertilizer
- Garden shears
Instructions
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Plant flowering quince in a site that receives four to eight hours of direct sunlight per day to ensure successful growth and blooming. Work a 6-inch layer of equal parts sphagnum peat moss, composted pine bark and perlite into the soil to a depth of 12 inches to improve its drainage if necessary. Set the flowering quince shrub at the same level it was growing in its nursery pot.
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Water flowering quince every seven to 10 days during the spring and summer; the shrub produces more blossoms when growing in consistently moist but well-drained soil. One inch of water per irrigation is usually sufficient; reduce the amount, if necessary, to prevent the soil from becoming overly saturated.
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Fertilize flowering quince every year in the early spring using a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer. Mix and apply the fertilizer according to the directions on the product.
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Prune flowering quince each year in the late spring, after the shrub stops blooming. Use sharpened and sterilized garden shears to cut back each branch by 1/3 its length; annual pruning results in revitalized growth and blossoming the following year.
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Tips & Warnings
Flowering quince bears small, edible fruits that can be harvested and made into jelly.
Avoid allowing standing water to pool at the base of the shrub. Prolonged exposure to overly saturated soil often results in premature leaf loss.
References
- "The Essential Garden"; Liz Dobbs; 2002
- University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service; Flowering Quince; Gerald Klingaman; March 2004
- Virginia Cooperative Extension; Flowering Quince; Alex X. Niemiera; May 2009
- Washington State University Extension; Flowering Quince; March 2006
- University of Illinois Extension: Common Flowering Quince
- NC State University Extension: Chaenomelea speciosa (Flowering Quince)
