chinese quince

[dick benbow]

I anquished where to put this topic to get it seen my the most eyes. I have two of these, one in a pot and one in the ground. neither have bloomed and i have written it off to both being relatively young.

Do they have to get older to bloom or can someone encourage them with the right knowledge.


we have a fund raising auction today that has an older one and i'm wondering if that might
not help.

Any input?

 

[JudyB]

Hi Dick,
Mine doesn't bloom either, and I have been letting it go wild for growth purposes. So I wonder this as well.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Quinces are in the apple family. Like apples they need some age to bloom. I don't know the exact number of years. I would not be surprised if Quinces had to be at least 10 to 15 years old to bloom. Anyone else know more?

 

[bruce m]

when Kathy Shaner was studying in japan she gave me some quince seeds and told me to expect them to bloom in 7 to 10 years.they bloomed in that time frame and now the fruit have sprouted and i have 80 to 100 baby's it the ground and 4 inch pots .they should bloom in a few years
bruce

 

[Vance Wood]

when Kathy Shaner was studying in japan she gave me some quince seeds and told me to expect them to bloom in 7 to 10 years.they bloomed in that time frame and now the fruit have sprouted and i have 80 to 100 baby's it the ground and 4 inch pots .they should bloom in a few years
bruce

I have a CrabApple that I have grown from seed that is now around 20yrs old and has never bloomed. I have let it grow wild hoping that it would bloom, for five or six years. At this point I am thinking that it has to do more with cultural errors or wrong kinds of Fertilizer or combination of the two.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Mine are all still in the ground at this point too, but I hope to pot one next year. None have flowered yet, and my oldest one has been in the ground for 6 years, and I've had it for 8.

Both International Bonsai '99 #1 and Bonsai Today #46 focus heavily on C. Quince. Both suggest good ramification is necessary for blooms and fruit, after a 4-10 year timeframe in a pot. They also suggest bud-grafting already-blooming shoots into the tree to accelerate the process. Grafted trees supposedly flower sooner than seedlings/cuttings.

 

[daygan]

I have a CrabApple that I have grown from seed that is now around 20yrs old and has never bloomed. I have let it grow wild hoping that it would bloom, for five or six years. At this point I am thinking that it has to do more with cultural errors or wrong kinds of Fertilizer or combination of the two.

Interesting. I would think, based on this article that a completely opposite strategy would be more effective.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Good article, hasn't seen it before. To paraphrase, develop the ramification, get the tree pot bound, which encourages it to go from an immature vegetative growth phase to the mature, reproductive phase. Allow the thorns to develop and remain, and eventually it will bloom. More phosphorous, less nitrogen.

with C. Quince, the growth does show "spurs" that aren't exactly thorns, but I always thought were the places to expect the flowers/fruit to develop. I'll add a photo.

btw, C. Quince is one of my favorite bonsai subjects, and have been reading everything I can get my hands on for the last 8-10 years. I'm eager to see them more widely used here in the U.S.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

A couple shots of 2-3 year old C. quince sacrifice branches with spurs(?) where flowers may develop at some point, if they were allowed to remain on the tree.

 

[daygan]

Good article, hasn't seen it before. To paraphrase, develop the ramification, get the tree pot bound, which encourages it to go from an immature vegetative growth phase to the mature, reproductive phase. Allow the thorns to develop and remain, and eventually it will bloom. More phosphorous, less nitrogen...

Yeah, I think Harry just added it this April. And yes, your paraphrase is basically how I understand the process. I can only assume this would be effective on quinces as well...

 

[dick benbow]

I did end up getting the tree, so all of this is helpfull.many thanks

 

[fore]

I have 2 in the ground since last yr. They are about 3' tall. Hasn't flowered at all. Sounds like I'll prob. have to wait till I pot it up. Their growth pattern is a bit strange in that you can really style this tree any which way. Prob will stay in ground for the foreseeable future till I get the trunk I want.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I did end up getting the tree, so all of this is helpfull.many thanks

Congrats...but did you think you could get by without sharing a photo?

 

[bumblebee]

Can somebody tell me in what ways Japanese Quince differ from the Chinese Quince? I have 2 what I believe to be Japanese Quince. They are in the ground, and really leggy, but have both bloomed yearly since I got them several years ago.

Libby

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Can somebody tell me in what ways Japanese Quince differ from the Chinese Quince? I have 2 what I believe to be Japanese Quince. They are in the ground, and really leggy, but have both bloomed yearly since I got them several years ago.

Libby

They're quite different, other than the fruits are somewhat similar. I'm not sure how they both carry the same common name. Look them up:

Japanese Quince: chaenomeles japonica
Chinese Quince: Pseudocydonia chinensis

 

[fore]

I have a j. quince, chojubai that has small leaves, like 1/4", red small flowers and dark bark. Ths ch. quince I have has a lighter colored bark, grows much faster, leaves a lot larger, say 1.5". Very diff. plants but both do have brittle wood.

 

[William N. Valavanis]

There are several differences between Chinese and Japanese Flowering Quince. Attached is a quick chart listing some of the characteristics.

It takes approximately 6-10 years for Chinese quince to begin flowering when grown from seed in the ground in warmer areas. In the frigid north it often takes 10-12 years for seedlings of Chinese quince to begin flowering. But I know of plants which are considerably older which have never flowered. However, once they begin flowering they continue to blossom.

 

[dick benbow]

just finished repotting the newly acquired quince. I learned a few years ago when this gentleman puts trees in the auction they are past the desperate need of being repotted.
So by keeping them till the next repotting year, it is very easy to loose or damage.

many of his trees he's had for 50 years. The pots are often worth more than the trees. ( mine was cracked) So I'll just have to baby it along till it adjusts.

I have friends in the UK that I wrote asking what they did to get theirs to bloom and they do nothing special and they keep blooming. So we'll see next april what happens.

got tickled with the mention of the red chojubai. My first love and the biggest grief. White and the new orange sport are a piece of cake to keep altho rather uncouth.

 

[John Romano]

some interesting things can be found in this article:
http://bonsaiunearthed.com/refinement-techniques/pseudocydonia-sinensis/
john