Colorful flowers in the front yard are a must for almost every hobby gardener. The ornamental quince with its radiant flower dress is very popular here. Sees only a few demands and is therefore very easy to care for.
The ornamental quince (lat. Chaenomeles) is an ornamental plant that belongs to the rose family and originally comes from East Asia. The look of the lovely plant is also reminiscent of distant Asia. The rich flowers make up the shrubs alongside the edible fruit resembling apples. These enchanting plants can grow to a width of up to two meters and a height of up to five meters and thus create an impressive picture in your own garden. There are three types of false quince, as the ornamental quince is also called, that are particularly suitable for these areas:
- Chaenomeles japonica from Japan
- Chaenomeles speciosa from China
- Chaenomeles x superba (a cross between these two species)
The ornamental quince from China convinces with its stronger growth, but it only flowers in April, while the Japanese ornamental quince already shines in full bloom in March. The quinces of the two bushes are edible in any case. The quince fruit can also be turned into jam or processed for homeopathic purposes. The juice from the fruit of the ornamental quince is considered very refreshing and gives off a hint of citrus fruits. If you bring an ornamental quince into your own garden, you will not only benefit from the beautiful color and a lemon-like scent. Rather, the ornamental quince fruits are also a feast for the senses.
More information about ornamental quinces
Even if the ornamental quince bears the name "quince", from a botanical point of view it is actually not a quince at all. The rose plant does not only come from China and Japan, but also from Myanmar. The shoots of the ornamental quince are characterized by sharp thorns, while the flowers shine in the following colors between March and April:
- white
- pink
- brick red
- orange
In addition, the ornamental quince is a so-calledSelf-pollinating, the fruits of which are characterized by a thick, hard flesh. In addition to the Japanese and Chinese ornamental quince, there are three other pure species, as well as various hybrids (crosses between different ornamental quince species).
Edible fruits of the ornamental quince
The ornamental quince produces a type of apple fruit that is either red or yellow in colour. The fruits can be harvested in autumn, when the rest of the ornamental shrub has long been bare. Ornamental quinces are very hard when raw. In order for the fruits to become a little softer, heavy frost is required. Then the ornamental quince fruits can also be processed more easily. The high content of vitamin C and the low sugar content make the fruits of the ornamental quince so he althy.
If you squeeze the fruit of the ornamental quince, you get a delicious juice that tastes like lemon juice. The ornamental quinces can also be cooked into jam or jelly. If the fruits are stored in a cool and dry place, they can be kept for a long time, even raw. The ornamental quinces should not be harvested in one fell swoop. Because if you leave a few fruits on the bush, you can look forward to a large variety of animal visitors in winter, who like to nibble on the fruits of the ornamental plant.
Important care measures
Location:
If you want to have a decorative quince in your own garden or on the terrace, you should choose a suitable location. In general, the ornamental quince is a fairly undemanding and therefore very easy-care ornamental plant. Thanks to the strong roots of the plant, which reach deep into the ground, strong winds hardly bother the ornamental quince. However, this only applies once the quince has grown properly.
This requires deep soil, which should also be well aerated. Because only then does the quite fine root system of the ornamental quince have the chance to spread into the depths and anchor the plant firmly there. A sunny to partially shaded location is ideal. Ideally, the ornamental quince is planted in October or again in April in your own garden. However, most experts choose to plant in the fall. At least this gives the ornamental shrub enough time to form plenty of new roots during the winter months.
Important:
While the ornamental quince appreciates some regularity of watering, standing dampness can quickly spell its death. Floors that tend to waterlogging are therefore anything butthan ideal. In this case, a lower layer of compost or mulch should be placed in the planting hole so that the necessary water drainage can be better guaranteed. If the soil is rather nutrient-poor, it is important to fertilize it sufficiently in spring to provide the ornamental quince with all the nutrients it needs.
Plants:
Provided that the required site conditions are met, ornamental quinces can be characterized by very sprawling growth. This must be considered when planting the shrub so that there can be no space problems later. If it is a solitary plant, there should be enough distance to other plants in the same bed. Otherwise the neighboring plants would probably be unnecessarily in the shade of the ornamental quince, which could quickly be the case with smaller plants.
If you want to plant the ornamental quinces as a magnificent hedge, please keep a planting distance of around one meter. This ensures a sufficiently thick and he althy ornamental quince hedge.
❶ Whether as a hedge or as a shrub, the planting hole has to be dug first. Ideally, this hole should be five times the size of the ball of the ornamental quince. It is also important to loosen the bottom of the hole well. As already mentioned, a drainage layer, which can consist of pebbles or expanded clay, for example, may be necessary. This ensures that waterlogging has no chance at all.
» Expert Tip: Before planting the ornamental quince in the ground, any root debris that has either died or been damaged in any way should be removed. In addition, it is important to water the root ball sufficiently well before it is transplanted into the ground. Any netting surrounding the root ball of the ornamental quince should definitely be removed before planting.
❷ After the ornamental quince has been placed in the hole in the ground, it needs to be filled. If necessary, the excavation can be enriched with compost or manure to provide the ornamental quince with a sufficient amount of nutrients as it grows in the garden. The earth should also be lightly trampled until there is an indentation.
❸ Finally, the ornamental quince needs to be watered sufficiently. So that the water can be optimally stored, a top layer consisting of bark mulch is also useful.
Casting:
While the ornamental quince is actually quite frugal, especially young plants that are justplanted should be watered regularly. Older ornamental quinces, on the other hand, need significantly less water and demand it, especially during longer dry periods. If the ornamental quince already sheds its flowers during the actual flowering period, this is to be understood as a clear sign that the plant has not been supplied with sufficient water. This can even lead to the ornamental quince dropping its fruit in summer before it has had a chance to ripen in autumn.
Fertilize:
It is usually sufficient if the ornamental quince is fertilized once in the spring. However, this is only a must for locations that are considered to be rather nutrient-poor. The following types of fertilizer are suitable for this purpose:
- Barn Manure
- Compost
- other organic fertilizers
Pruning:
Pruning of the ornamental quince should generally be treated with caution. In this case, less is more. The shrubs, which are generally known for their slow growth, should not be cut for the first time until their third year. In particular, the following components of the ornamental quince can be shortened:
- Crossing branches
- shoots that grow askew/inwards
- Tops of shoots after flowering (cut back in May or June)
- old/ dried up wood in autumn before it goes into hibernation (please cut off close to the branch)
When it comes to pruning for rejuvenation, around thirty percent of the branches of the ornamental quince are pruned. The inside of the bush should not be overlooked either, so that the ornamental quince cannot go wild. From the third year, the rejuvenation cut can be done once a year. After three years at the latest, this ensures that the ornamental quince has a particularly rich bloom and fruit splendor.
In the case of ornamental quinces that have been planted as a hedge, naturalization is even expressly desired. Finally, this contributes to the opaqueness of the hedge. If you shape your hedge, you have to be prepared for the fact that there will be fewer ornamental quince blossoms next year. If you want a dense, shapely and blooming ornamental quince hedge, you have to be patient.
Increase:
If you want to propagate the ornamental quince, you can do this with the help of cuttings or by sowing. However, propagation by cuttings is considered the more reliable of the two methods.
❍ Propagation with cuttings:
To do this, take a cutting from the plant and place it in one withplace the glass filled with water. As soon as the ornamental quince cutting has developed sufficient roots, it can be planted in the ground.
Sometimes the ornamental quince reproduces accidentally in your own garden. This phenomenon is due to the fact that birds love the fruit of ornamental quince. They eat the fruit and later excrete the seeds of the ornamental quince in the garden. However, if you don't want to leave anything to chance, you should definitely keep the following factors in mind when propagating the ornamental quince with the help of cuttings:
- Cut cuttings only in spring (considered to be the growing season of the ornamental quince)
- ideal length of the ornamental quince cuttings: 15 to about 20 centimeters
- be sure to remove the lower leaves of the ornamental quince cuttings
❍ Propagation with seeds:
If you want to try growing with seeds, you should know that these are cold germs. With this form of propagation, proceed as follows:
❶ First, the seeds of the ornamental quince must be freed from any pulp. They then have to dry for several days before being stored in a sufficiently large bag in the refrigerator with sand for a full three months.
❷ Only then can the seeds of the ornamental quince be sown. Germ-free seed soil is a must. The seeds should also only be covered by a little soil.
❸ The pot in which the ornamental quince seeds were sown should be covered with a glass pane and placed in a bright but not too sunny spot. The soil must not be too wet, even if the ornamental quince prefers even moisture.
The germination period of the seeds is two or more months. Only when the new ornamental quince plants have reached a height of five centimeters can they be planted in the garden.
Hiberation:
The ornamental quince is also familiar with cold temperatures from its native Asia. Most ornamental quince species that are offered for the local area can easily overwinter in the garden even at freezing minus temperatures. Nevertheless, all hobby gardeners should not neglect the necessary care of the ornamental quince in winter. Although the plant does not require winter protection measures such as covering with fleece, adequate watering is a must even in winter.
Diseases & Pests:
Fortunately, the ornamental quince is only slightly susceptible to diseases. However, too much waterlogging and a lack of iron can cause noticeable damage to the ornamental plant in the long runinflict An iron deficiency in the plant is usually due to a soil with too high a pH value. Therefore, the pH value of the soil should be lowered accordingly. In addition, herbicides are poison for ornamental quinces. It is therefore absolutely necessary to refrain from treating the ornamental quince with a herbicide, which is also not necessary, since the ornamental quince is hardly susceptible to pests and diseases.
Only the so-called fire blight can become a problem with ornamental quinces, as with many quinces, pears and apples. If the plant is infected with it, this can be recognized by the black shoot tips, which indeed look like they have been burned. If the ornamental quince is indeed affected by fire blight, the entire plant must be dug up. Then you have to destroy the plant. In addition, the fire blight must be reported to the authorities. This is because this bacterial infection can cause significant damage and financial losses for local farmers, especially in fruit-growing regions.