Flowering quince, Chaenomeles speciosa, is one of those plants that’s been in cultivation for a long time, and even the older varieties are still valuable in the landscape. The newer varieties like the Double Take series have bred out the thorns, but most people don’t need to walk through them anyway. In fact, thorns may be useful, say, planted underneath your teenager’s bedroom window.
Sometimes called Japanese quince, they can be used to create bonsai or an addition to a Japanese garden.
For Asheville, NC gardens, they are, to this author, the best early spring flower, one of the first shrubs to bloom in March, along with forsythia. Flowers range from pink to red to peach and the plant is a profuse bloomer. They are somewhat tolerant of frost and generally bloom enough where even if it gets zapped, the buds will still produce blooms later.
Here are some pros and cons of flowering quince:
Pros:
- Profuse blooms in a beautiful range of colors.
- Somewhat frost tolerant.
- Tolerant of clay soil.
- Ok in some shade.
- Good for slopes.
- Generally very easy to grow.
- Pest and disease resistant.
- Can produce edible fruit.
- Foliage is nice but not a standout.
Cons:
- Single season of interest (spring blooms)
- Can be thorny.
- Slow growing, especially the first couple of years.
Quince is a suckering, multi-stemmed shrub and is best planted in an area where you need something tough and spreading, like a slope you’d like to fill. While it’s blooms in early spring are spectacular, it’s a one and done plant for the season, so you wouldn’t want to use it as a foundation plant. It makes an excellent border or barrier though, particularly the thorny varieties.
Due to it’s slow initial growth and somewhat messy habit, it can be hard to find large plants in the trade. Don’t be afraid to start small with this one though: They will survive, it just takes some patience. Expect three years before it gets going.