🌸 Flowering Quince, #2311

Chaenomeles X Superba "Jet Trail", Wegman’s Nursery, $15

  • Horizontal shoots were trimmed to 3” and attempting cuttings propagation

  • After blooms fade, each are pulled to prevent fruit and to push energy to roots and branches

  • Beautiful trunk movement and horizontal branches. Brought closer to the trunk; clip and grow over wiring—not sure of the design.

Next steps

  • Cut back branches to focus energy to the trunk

  • Then let the new apex grow out

Aug 2024

Bonsai Empire

The best time for wiring is in autumn, after the leaves have fallen. Older branches are stiff and brittle, better use guy wires for shaping them, but younger twigs are flexible and can be shaped quite easily. Young shoots can be wired in summer. Don't wire the Chinese quince in spring because the tender new buds break off at the lightest touch.

INSPIRATIONS

Late September, dug up 3 cuttings from spring. Had roots and potted in tea cups (1:1:1). Likely too impatient and should have left alone until the following spring—but will see.

Pruning shrub/quince [Crataegus m.Hagedorn]

The pruning shown here may be applied to many shrubs.

> Lower shoots were cut short, to control basal dominance of the shrub

> Some higher shoots were uncut, to prevent larger, taller trunks from getting weak

A few other points:

> Retaining top shoots will help thicken the main trunks for contrast with thinner trunks

> These will be cut off late next year

> The selective pruning will continue for some years on this half-developed quince

> If we skipped fall pruning, the plant would weaken some areas, strengthen those we don’t want strengthened, and would—eventually—lose density and become leggy and coarse

The large box allows two things to happen at once: refinement of twigging by pruning twice a year, and selective fattening of some trunks by sometimes not pruning their shoots.

SBBK Clinic (Val) Dec 5, 2023

  • Quince fair best to prune when coldest of the year (now).

  • Not many grow quince at SBBK; Jeremy has had good experience.

  • Trunk width grows slowly, and branches are large relative to the trunk. Need to slow down the big branch growth by cutting back to buds. Not for bifurcation, but to divert energy to the many buds on the trunk—let them grow out as narrower branches. This will allow the trunk to grow and have more taper.

  • Caution with pests: Jeremy had root gall, from a pest. Expensive pesticide or repot often and inspect roots.

treeMichael Weitree, quince, flowering, deciduous, 2023Comment