Here's another one for you. Flowering Quince, does it deserve a place in the shrub border? Good for birds? Have you ever cut it and forced blooms early like forsythia? Any pest problems? Would it look good in front of blue spruce ?
Flowering Quince, worth a spot?
I have several taken from one plant. They have really deep and serious root systems so be sure that's where you want it when you plant it. Getting it out again to move once it is established will be tough. They are hardy as all get out here in Massachusetts
Yes, I have forced the blooms and they have a lovely oriental look to them due to their placement on the branches. You can get an orange-ish red, red, white and pink for flower colors. The Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain has a number of them in their Rosaceae collection. They are a gorgeous sight in the spring.
Nothing much eats it and mine are sort of slow growers. However, their fantastic root systems are helpful to hold parts of my steep hillside garden in place. My neighbor has an very old one that is well over 8 feet tall. She never prunes it. I pick branches to force from it occasionally. It had to be moved so the town could do some sewer work and it took a backhoe to get it out of its former spot. I keep mine in check with light pruning because one is near the house and one is at the bottom corner of my driveway. Hope this helps,
Martha
This message was edited Jan 27, 2008 12:06 PM
This message was edited Jan 27, 2008 12:06 PM
That's one I'm going to try. Saw a couple of beautiful ones next to a nursery near the North Shore. Made a U-turn and went to the nursery to ask for it. Turns out it was the next door property’s' but I researched it and found it. It’s on my 'got to play with' list. ☺
I have one that "came with the property", and it sits in front of my "Christmas" tree - don't know which kind. It gets shade late morning/early afternoon, and does fine. Right now I keep it trimmed to about a dozen canes, because I don't want it to spread where it is - someday it will go over to the hedgerow.
The pic is so you can see how tall the tree is. The quince is to the left of the middle rock, even though you can't see it.
I like my 'Contorta'. Stays small - about three feet. Never noticed birds on it. The flowers are mildly fragrant and the contorted branching is cool.
Here's a link:
http://fairweathergardens.com/
Type in 'quince'.
Scroll down and you will see 'Contorta'.
This message was edited Jan 27, 2008 2:54 PM
Wow! I see a few (Chaenomeles) I'm getting! ☺
I have been ordering from them for years and recommend them.