Everything about growing Japanese quince. Site selection and planting, reproduction of Japanese quince, bush care throughout the year, pruning and crown formation. Breeding types. Japanese quince is a low-growing ornamental and fruiting shrub of the Rosaceae family (the botanical name is Japanese henomeles). It grows wild on the islands of Japan, has long been cultivated and is known under the name: Mauleia henomeles, low quince, dwarf mountain quince and alpine henomeles.
Japanese quince is decorative from early spring to late autumn. Long before flowering, reddish-pink buds look spectacular against the background of emerald-green foliage. During the flowering period for 3 weeks, chaenomeles is beautiful due to the abundance of bright flowers (up to 4-5 cm in diameter), closely collected on arched shoots. The flowers are striking in their variety of colors. On some bushes they are soft coral pink, while on others they are salmon pink, ruby, orange or garnet red. Semi-double flowers are especially decorative.
Longer than others, this shrub remains densely leafy in autumn and attracts attention with leathery dark green foliage.
In addition, in the fall, Japanese quince gives exclusively high-vitamin fruits, which contain 98-150 mg% of vitamin C. Fruits are very diverse in shape and color, similar to quince or pear, most often yellow-green in color, but there are also yellow-lemon, bright yellow, often with a red barrel, not very large - weighing up to 30-40 grams. The fruits are not tasty in their raw form, but their persistent aroma, reminiscent of pineapple, creates a specific bouquet in jam, jam, jelly and syrup.
This cross-pollinated plant is a good honey plant and is pollinated by bees. The shrub has a powerful root system and reliably fixes the soil, is drought-resistant and is not damaged by diseases and pests.
Site selection and planting Japanese quince
A well-lit area with black soil, loamy or sandy loam soil is suitable for planting.
It is a thermophilic plant that tolerates harsh winters better in places protected from northerly winds. On uneven terrain, southern and southwestern slopes are preferred.
Planting scheme and area of the bush
| Plant age, years | Distance in a row, m | Distance between rows, m | Bush area, m2 |
| 1–2 | 0, 1 | 0, 5 | 0, 3–0, 5 |
| 3 | 0, 6 | 1 | 0, 6–0, 8 |
| 4 | 1 | 1, 3 | 1–1, 3 |
| 5–7 | 1 | 1, 5 | 1, 5–1, 8 |
Landing pit sizes, m
| Plant age, years | Diameter | Depth |
| 1–2 | 0.2 X 0.2 | 0, 4 |
| 3 | 0.3 X 0.3 | 0, 6 |
| 4 | 0.4 X 0.4 | 0, 8 |
| 1–2 | 0.5 X 0.5 | 1 |
Before planting, the soil is loosened and weeds are removed. On "poor" (clay and sandy) soils, organic fertilizer is applied: manure or peat compost (5 kg / m2). Planting is carried out in spring or autumn. It is better to plant chaenomeles in small groups of 3-5 plants at a distance of 1-1.5 meters from each other so that adult plants, closing in with their roots, do not crowd each other.
When planting, a slight deepening of the root collar of 3-5 cm is allowed. It is necessary to follow. So that the root system fits freely in the planting hole.
Reproduction of Japanese quince
Japanese quince reproduces well by seeds, cuttings, root cavity and layering. When propagated by seeds, varietal qualities are not preserved. Freshly harvested seeds from ripe fruits are sown in the fall in the ground, and they sprout next summer. When sowing in spring, the seeds need preliminary stratification. To do this, they are placed in boxes with wet sand for 2-3 months and kept at a temperature close to zero. After the seeds "hatch", they are sown in the ground. Vegetative propagation is less economically efficient than seed, but it allows you to get a plant that is similar in hereditary characteristics to the parent plant.
In early June, propagation by green cuttings is possible. In cold weather, preferably in the morning, cut off strong lateral shoots with pruning shears and wrap them in wet burlap. Cuttings with one or two internodes are cut from these shoots. Such annual cuttings with a small (0.1-1 cm) piece of biennial wood - a "heel", are suitable. A good result of rooting cuttings is obtained by pretreating them in a 0, 001% solution of indolylbutyric acid for 24 hours.
Cuttings are planted obliquely (30 °) in a greenhouse with foil frames. The substrate is a mixture of sand and peat (3: 1). In conditions of high humidity (90%) at a temperature of 20-25 ° C, rooting occurs after 40 days.
By autumn, young plants grow 15 cm, have a well-developed root system and are planted in the ground.
Japanese quince sometimes forms root growth, which can give rise to a new plant. When digging a bush in spring or autumn, the shoots are cut off with pruning shears.
Long lodging shoots are capable of involuntary rooting, this feature can be used for propagation by layering. In early spring, annual shoots are pinned to previously loosened soil. During the summer, the allotted shoot is regularly watered and hilled. Rooting occurs by the fall of the current year, and sometimes the next year. Layers with a developed root system are cut with pruning shears and transplanted.
Japanese Quince Shrub Care
In the first year after planting and during the dry season, the plant needs watering. During the summer, loosen the soil under the bush and remove weeds. The soil around the shrub is mulched (with peat or sawdust) with a layer of 3-5 cm. Mulch retains moisture well, improves the structure of the soil and inhibits the growth of weeds.
In the first two years after planting, the plant is fed with organic and mineral fertilizers. In the spring - slurry, nitrogen fertilizers; in the fall - phosphorus and potash.
From 4-5 years of age, the shrub begins to bloom and bear fruit annually. From one bush, you can collect an average of two and a half kilograms, and with careful care and in especially fruitful years, up to 4-6 kg. Rafts ripen in late September - early October.
If unripe fruits are harvested before frost, they ripen in a lying place and give viable seeds. The fruits are wrapped in paper and stored in a dark room at a temperature of 6-10 ° C; they acquire a characteristic persistent aroma.
In young plants and in the year of transplantation of adult bushes, the growth of shoots is delayed until late autumn. Not having time to lumber and prepare for winter, plantings can be damaged by autumn frosts and frosts. To avoid this, the erect branches of chaenomeles are bent to the ground and covered with a layer of fallen leaves or spruce branches. Shoots located under the snow are reliably protected from freezing in severe winters.
Vaccination on the stem. The decorative qualities of Japanese quince are significantly increased if the plant is cultivated on a high stem, but the standard form does not suffer from frost only in the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine.
The best stock is common mountain ash at 3 years of age up to 1-2 m.
In July, inoculation is carried out by the method of budding (inoculation with an eye). 6-10 days before vaccination, strong annual shoots are cut and stored in a cool room in plastic wrap. On the day of vaccination, a shield with a bud is cut off from the shoot with a sharp budding knife (there should be no wood on it). After that, a T-shaped incision is made on the rootstock in the trunk at a height of 1-1, 8 meters from the soil level and a shield is inserted into it. The place of budding is tightly wrapped with plastic wrap, tied and covered with garden varnish. To obtain a powerful crown, 2 buds are grafted at once - one 5 cm higher than the other on opposite sides.
Pruning and shaping the crown
Up to 3 years of age, the shrub hardly branches. If weak branching is observed in subsequent years, then the shoots are shortened by 1/3 or cut off "on a stump".
From 3-4 years of age, when the crown thickens, it is advisable to start thinning pruning, remove underdeveloped and thickened shoots. The crown is thinned out more often than in 2-3 years.
Sanitary cleaning is carried out annually. Cut off old and dried up branches, remove all the drying ends of the shoots and those shoots that are not able to bear fruit.
Adult shrubs have an erect or semi-creeping crown with long, outstretched shoots. Under these spreading, creeping shoots, metal supports can be substituted so that elegant brightly colored flowers are better visible during flowering.
