Flowering quince
Location: Front-side Eaton Hall
Approximate blooming period: April-May
Chinese flowering quince 'Jet Trails', Chaenomeles speciosa
Origin: China
Habitat: Hardy to USDA Zone 4
Height and Form: Deciduous shrub, 6-10 ft (2-3 m) high,
Foliage and Bark: similar or greater spread, rounded outline, sometimes erect, tangled and dense twiggy mass, spiny branches. Leaves alternate, simple, ovate to oblong, 4-9 cm long, sharply serrate, lustrous dark green above, stipules large on current seasons growth.
Flowers, Fruit and Seeds: Flowers (red, pink to white) start to appear before leaves in spring (sporadically in fall), solitary or in clusters of 2-4, showy. Fruit yellowish green with reddish blush, fragrant, speckled with small dots, ripen in early fall.
Cultivars/Varieties: speciosa: showy, the flowers
- 'Cameo': actually C. × supurba (C. japonica × C. speciosa), low form, thornless, flowers double, apricot pink.
- 'Jet Trail': low growing, 2-3 ft, white flowers.
- 'Nivalis': upright, vigorous, white flowers.
- 'Orange Delight': low spreading plant, bright orange flowers.
- 'Texas Scarlet': compact, low growing, spreading, profuse tomato-red flowers.
- 'Toyo-nishiki': upright shrub, 6 ft, with white, pink and red flowers on the same branch.
- Oregon State University - Chaenomeles speciosa
Japanese quince, Chaenomeles japonica
Origin: Japan
Habitat: Hardy to USDA Zone 5
Height and Form: Deciduous shrub that grows up to 3 ft tall
Foliage and Bark: widespreading, dense branches, medium summer texture, coarse winter texture, dark green leaves
Flowers, Fruit and Seeds: produces very showy, very bright orangy-red flowers that bloom in early spring, sometimes late winter, which turns into a yellow green pome, like an apple
