Floundering Japanese Quince

wireme

Masterpiece
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Kootenays, British Columbia
USDA Zone
3
I'm in zone 6b; not sure your zone, but I've had a Japanese quince growing out in the ground for several years, and it is fine so far.


I’ve overwintered a bunch that I started from seed in mulched pots on the ground for about 5 years now. Zone 3. They seem to be as tough as anything else.
 

Bonsai Nut

Nuttier than your average Nut
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Charlotte area, North Carolina
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Have you sung to it? Perhaps a little subtle humming while you play some classical guitar?

I kid, of course, but I swear that is what I feel like some times when working with Japanese quince. You prune it, and it shoots leggy growth everywhere. But if you pinch/prune that leggy growth, it will pout and sit there for a long time making you believe it is dead... and then it will shoot more leggy growth just to mess with your head.
 
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Tennessee
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I have a quince that is doing similar stuff, long growth everywhere but old leaves looking mottled. I read on another thread that these guys respond well to late summer pruning. Would this be a good time to perform a hard pruning back to older wood?
 

Lost2301

Yamadori
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In Colorado my quince all of them have historically looked bad by the end of the summer. To much sun and spider mites and they quit growing when temps. start reaching 90 degrees. I have a Kurokoji that quits growing and drops 90% of its leaves. I recently put up an arbor/shade cloth over two growing benches. Moved all but one quince under the shade cloth now and all are putting out new growth now. The Toyo Nishki has been under the shade cloth the longest and has new growth over 6 inches long now and still growing. It is going to be fun figuring out how to use all this new growth now. The Kurokoji was placed on the ground under the shade cloth and it is even growing now. I am very excited to see it doing well. The first summer when it dropped most of its leaves I thought it was dead. I moved it into shade and kept watering it, darn thing leafed out in spring only to repeat the pattern. I measured the temp on my growing bench in full sun and it was 117, measured bench under shade cloth 91. Ground level should be even cooler under shade cloth. My large scarlet storm was sunburned pretty good in full sun, moved it under shade cloth and it is now putting out new leaves all over. I also spray once a month for spider mites. The trees seem happier after I do that? I will be moving the last quince under the shade cloth.
 
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