CHAENOMELES. Flowering quince. East Asia. These are deciduous shrubs of the rose family, varying considerably in size and habit, though they often form small thickets. They have zigzag, sometimes contorted branches and attractive grey to purplish bark. Many have stout nodal spines. The leaves resemble those of Pyracantha, often broader near the tip, dark and shiny above and paler beneath. In late winter and early spring, small clusters of 5-petalled, white to crimson flowers, each about an inch broad, grace the bare stems. The fruits—if they are set at all—resemble small pears in form (certainly not in flavor; they are quite bitter). Nearly all the plants now sold, usually as C. japonica, are hybrids, mostly of uncertain ancestry. All are easy to grow in a variety of soils, with sun and moderate watering. Occasional hard pruning helps to rejuvenate the plants and increase flowering in successive years. Apple scab can disfigure the leaves near the coast; pulling off infected leaves and pruning the plants to keep all parts exposed to sun and moving air, are effective remedies. Fire blight, which travels down the stems from recent flowers or wounds, attacks some selections; watch for blackened stems, and prune them out, cutting well below any visible sign of infection. They have few other problems. Hardy to below 0oF.
‘Cameo’. This selection made quite a stir in the 70s as one of the few truly dwarf cultivars. It is now an old favorite. It is certainly one of the best for small gardens, with low growth, moderate spread, attractive bright green leaves, held nearly throughout the year in milder climates, and large, soft salmon pink flowers.
‘Contorta’ is 4-5’ tall, with twisted branches and white to light pink flowers. It is treasured for winter flower arrangements. Thinning out the branch scaffold from time to time to expose the trunks emphasizes its distinctive features.
‘Contorta Orange’, recently received from Erik Nagata, is more spreading in habit, with similarly contorted branches and red-orange flowers.
‘Fiery Scarlet’ is a spreading, well-branched shrub with generous production of scarlet flowers (can scarlet be anything but fiery?).
‘Hime’ is one of the taller selections, with stems to at least 6’, and masses of bright red single blossoms.
‘Hollandia’ is an old-favorite, growing upright to at least 8’. Large scarlet flowers are another distinctive feature.
‘Jet Trail’. A dwarf selection, similar in habit to ‘Cameo’, above, and displaying similar bright green leaves. The flowers are snow-white.
‘Kingishi’ is my own personal favorite, a bushy, somewhat dwarf selection with the most vivid, deep red single flowers I have seen in a quince.
‘Nivalis’ is a robust white flowered selection, reaching 6-8’ in height and perhaps equal spread.
‘Oyashima’ is a similarly tall but well branched shrub, displaying many double white flowers.
‘Toyo Nishiki’ is the first chaenomeles that ever interested me. It has graceful long branches bearing flowers of several different shades, from deep coral-pink to white and often mixing various shades in the same flower.