Maule's quince

Identification and origin

Chaenomeles japonica belongs to the rose family, Rosaceae, along with apples, pears and the common quince. It is native to Japan and Korea. Long grown in Europe as an ornamental shrub, it has naturalized in many countries, from France to Ukraine, and in several states of the eastern United States. You can also find it under its older names, Cydonia japonica or Chaenomeles maulei. It reached the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea as early as 1879.

It is a deciduous, bushy and densely branched shrub with a wide, spreading habit. It rarely grows taller than 20 in – 3.5 ft, but spreads 5–8 ft, and takes five to ten years to reach mature size. Growth is moderate. The gray-brown stems arch and cross into a dense network and carry spines roughly every 4–6 in. The plant suckers: new stems rise from the base and slowly widen the clump.

The leaves are alternate and simple, oval to rounded, glossy, mid to dark green, up to about 2 in long, with finely scalloped or toothed edges.

Flowers appear from late winter to early spring on still-bare twigs, and sometimes linger as the leaves unfold. Cup-shaped and up to 2 in across, they open in small clusters of five to eight. Most are orange-red to scarlet with creamy stamens, but depending on the plant they can also be pink, white or dark red. They form on the previous year’s wood.

The fruit is a small, fragrant pome, often lemon-shaped, greenish yellow to yellow and sometimes flushed red, about 2 in long. It ripens in fall. Edible but bitter raw, it is used for jelly, jam and preserves. In the Baltic countries the species has even been selected as a fruit shrub: its quinces are valued for their aroma, their pectin and their high vitamin C content.

Light

Maule’s quince flowers best in full sun. It accepts partial shade, but blooms less there. Any exposure suits it, north included, and it copes with both windswept and sheltered spots. In a container or as a bonsai, full sun remains the rule for good flowering.

Watering

In the ground it tolerates dry spells and even occasionally soggy soil, though it prefers soil that stays moist but drains well. It also handles clay, as long as water does not stand.

In a container it needs more attention, because the root ball dries faster. Check the mix with a finger and water as soon as the surface feels slightly dry, until water runs from the drainage holes. In winter the leafless plant uses little water: keep the root ball just barely moist.

Potting mix

It adapts to almost any soil: chalky, clay, loam or sand, as long as it drains well. Rather acidic soil suits it best. It tolerates lime, but on very alkaline soil its leaves can yellow between the veins (chlorosis). It also accepts shallow, rocky soils, which makes it a good shrub for banks and rock walls.

In a container, use a free-draining mix; for a bonsai, a standard bonsai mix works well.

Temperature

It is one of the most cold-hardy flowering quinces, far hardier than the common garden flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa). It is hardy in USDA zones 5a to 9b and, in the ground, withstands winters of -4–5 °F.

Cold is actually necessary: without a period of winter chill it flowers poorly or not at all. Never overwinter it somewhere warm. In a container, the roots are more exposed to freezing than those of a shrub in the ground, so shelter the pot during hard freezes.

Repotting

A plant in the ground never needs moving. In a container or as a bonsai, repot every two to three years, preferably in fall; spring repotting is also possible, with care, before the leaf buds lengthen. Trim part of the roots and renew the mix at the same time.

A quince grown for years in a container often keeps a thin trunk: to thicken it, growers leave it in the ground for several years before training it as a bonsai.

Pruning

Because it flowers on the previous year’s wood, prune it right after flowering, in spring: it belongs to the group of early-flowering shrubs. Pruning then also encourages flowering the following year. Avoid severe pruning.

Remove suckers at the base if you want to limit its spread. Taking off faded flowers prevents fruit from forming and saves the plant’s energy; leave them if you want to harvest quinces. Wear thick gloves: the spines are numerous and trap dead leaves and debris.

Propagation

• Cuttings: take semi-ripe cuttings in summer.
• Layering: peg a low branch into the soil in fall and sever it once rooted.
• Seed: sow seeds outdoors in fall.

Common problems

• Spotted leaves and early leaf drop: fungal leaf spot, common in very rainy years, which can defoliate the plant.
• Wilting flowers and rotting fruit: blossom wilt and brown rot, two fungal diseases it can be susceptible to.
• Shoots that blacken as if scorched: fire blight, a disease the species can be susceptible to.
• Insects: aphids on young shoots, scale insects (including brown scale) and mites.
• General decline: rarely, honey fungus on the roots.
• Yellow leaves with green veins: chlorosis on overly alkaline soil.
• Poor flowering: too little sun, a winter that is too mild, or pruning at the wrong time.

The same symptom can have several causes: check exposure, soil, watering and pruning timing before acting.

Toxicity

The fruit is edible once cooked, as jelly or jam. The seeds, however, contain toxins: always remove them before preparing the fruit. These ornamental quinces should not be eaten by pets; if a dog or cat eats them, contact a veterinarian. Finally, the spines can injure: handle the plant with gloves.