Japanese Quince - Cultivation And Use

2023 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 20:34

Chaenomeles japonica - ornamental and fruit shrub

Quince or Chaenomeles in translation from Greek means "to split an apple". The quince genus contains four species found in China and Japan. Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica), its hybrids and varieties are widespread in gardening in Russia.

This is a shrub that reaches a height of no more than one meter. Its crown is spreading, the branches are covered with infrequent, but rather long - up to 2 cm thorns. Dark green shiny leaves are arranged alternately.

Quince begins to bloom in late May - early June and continues to bloom for a month, delighting the eyes of gardeners with bright orange-red flowers up to 3.5 cm in diameter, collected in shortened brushes of 2-6 pieces.

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It is possible to grow this miracle of nature not only in the south, but also in the middle lane, and near St. Petersburg. I would like to share with the readers of the magazine my experience of growing this amazing plant in more northern latitudes, namely, in Karelia.

The root system of the quince is fibrous, superficial. This is probably why it can grow on any soil - on dry sandy and waterlogged clayey. She is not afraid of the proximity of groundwater. The only thing that really matters to her is that the place where you are going to plant the quince should be sunny and sheltered from cold winds.

In winter, it is desirable that all the shoots are under the snow, otherwise those that remain above the snow cover are likely to freeze. But even if this happened, you should not be scared - in the spring, the quince begins to actively grow new shoots from the root, and then the crown of the bush is practically restored.

This rather useful property of the Japanese quince can be used in landscaping your garden plot. It can be used not only to create separate groups of bright red spots on your flower garden, but also to form a hedge that is well-tolerant to clipping.

Quince is undemanding in leaving. It is only necessary to water it in dry years, periodically weed, cut off dried branches. With good care and a suitable climate, quince plants can grow up to 60 years old.

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It propagates by cuttings, seeds, dividing the bush and layering. The division of the bush and the planting of quince seedlings are carried out in early spring before bud break, sowing of seeds - either in the fall, freshly harvested, or in the spring, but already scarified seeds (Scarification of seeds is an artificial damage to the seed shell, as a result of which the access of water and air to the seeds is facilitated, which facilitates their germination - ed). For planting seedlings and bushes, a mixture of two buckets of manure or peat, 300 g of organic fertilizer, 5 tablespoons of nitrophoska and 1 glass of wood ash is prepared. Another bucket of coarse river sand is added to the clay soil.

Quince is a cross-pollinated crop. Therefore, it is necessary to plant no less than 3-4 plants at a distance of 1.5 m from each other. Japanese quince is a wonderful honey plant, as well as a shrub that produces medium-sized fruits weighing 12-60 g, various in shape - sometimes they look like apples, and sometimes they look like rounded pears or lemons, fruits are yellow-green in color.

It begins to bear fruit in the conditions of Karelia in the fourth year. Fruits ripen in October. But even if they are not ripe, it is quite possible to collect them, and after three months of storage at a low temperature (+ 5 … + 7? C), the taste of the fruit is significantly improved. The fruits have a discreet, but very delicate and pleasant aroma, which makes it possible to use them for the preparation of various jams, candied fruits, jellies and even an amazing drink - tincture of quince fruits. In raw form, the fruits of Japanese quince are practically not consumed, using only as a flavoring for tea.

Plant this wonderful plant in your garden and it will delight you with its beauty and fruit for years to come.

Read the next part. Recipes for jam, candied fruit and quince compote →