Flowering Quince 'Dragon's Blood', but not really

[Stan Kengai]

I just wanted to share some pics of the Quince I got this weekend. The variety is supposed to be 'Dragon's Blood': semi-dwarf with bright red double flowers. My plant has dark pink flowers. When the flower first opened, it was marbled pink and white (or pale pink). Could this be because it was in a dark greenhouse when it opened?

Anyway, I didn't get it for the flowers. I got it for the relatively big fused root base, and I couldn't beat the price. The soil had apparently washed from the pot (long ago judging by the bark on the roots) and was about 3" below the crown. Unfortunately, the exposed roots are too straight to develop it as a neagari. I refilled with Turface to see if I can get some roots closer to the crown.

Sorry for the photo quality, but had to snap some before I lost the flower. The color is off and makes it look slightly orange.

Feel free to share your quince flowers.

 

[dick benbow]

just went thru all my photos but none kept with quince flowers. My white chojubai is flowering
and red not yet awake from it's winter slumber. lots of buds swelling on the landscape quinces.
quince is my favorite, I must have 40 some plants of varying types and colors. A few singular trunks but i must admit to loving the kabudachi (clump) style. My toyo nishiki was 50 years old when i got it, and i've had it for 30 some years. It blooms all three colors, red,white, pink.
I have a dark red (blackish) that grows terrible straight no matter how you wire but the blooms are incredibly beautiful. was out working on a few today and discovered a cluster of aphids on one, so removed the leaf from last year that they were on and sprayed.

 

[fredtruck]

Stan, what are your plans for the future development of this tree? It looks like there may be several directions to go in.

 

[Stan Kengai]

Fred, I didn't have a vision when I got this plant, whereas normally I won't even buy raw material unless I can see where I want to go with it. The first thing I'm going to do is work on the upper roots. There are nice thick upper roots that flare out to about 2.5-3" wide base then go straight down with no feeder roots within the top 3 inches. It's almost like this plant was in a 2" plastic pot, escaped into the ground, and then had the pot broken off some years later (hope that paints a better picture). This is definitely a long term project, and I'm just going to let the top grow for a while, observe its vigor and growth pattern, and see if it leads me anywhere.

This is not a dwarf cultivar (maybe semi-dwarf) and it has 1.5-2" flowers, so it's probably going to have to be a 18-24" bonsai to have any kind of scale with the flowers. Luckily the leaves don't appear to be too large, maybe 3/4", and 2 year old wood is still pretty pliable. Another good trait is that it's blooming right to the end of the branches. Perhaps I can make a smaller clump style out of it and live with the large flowers. But right now, I'm thinking a taller double or triple trunk. I'm still not convinced that this is a 'Dragon's Blood', as marked at the nursery, based on the pictures I've seen on the 'net.

 

[fredtruck]

Quince roots are pretty flexible, particularly in younger plants, so you may be able to spread them out, or do anything you want with them. Also, leaf-size is not important in flowering quince, because in bonsai, quince have their own culture which don't follow the usual practices. Colin Lewis has some very good, concise directions for bonsai-ing quince in his books.

 

[Poink88]

I dug a clump quince last year and it looks like it has one (yes just one) flower bud for me. It is just 1/4" in diameter right now but I am really looking forward it opening. The color (if I recall correctly) is similar to the one posted by Stan.

 

[Stan Kengai]

Fred, I'm doubtful that I'm going to be able to do much with the existing roots because they're .5 - .75" thick and fused/fusing together. If I can't get some feeder roots to develop near the base, I'll probably graft some on (typically not a difficult task with quince). We'll see how it goes. I'm planning on having a lot of fun while growing this plant out, taking cuttings and maybe a thick air-layer or two, and if in the end I can turn this into something decent, I'll consider it a bonus. And if all else fails, I can still enjoy the flowers.

Thanks for the tip on the Colin Lewis books.

 

[Stan Kengai]

Update: This one's just sat around getting reduced further and further. Finally last year, an exposed root option presented itself. After flowering, it will get some wire.

 

[LanceMac10]

didn't get it for the flowers.

Not even a little?

the relatively big fused root base, and I couldn't beat the price.

I'll "buy" that!!

Feel free to share your quince flowers.

 

[LanceMac10]

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Roots looking similar to mine from this thread, which I haven't updated in a while. I've held off on trying to come of with a design. It's just growing in a pot with the soil line raised nearly to the top of the base. I want to completely cover it the next time I repot in hopes of getting more small roots. I may repot soon or wait until fall 2017. Depends on how busy I am.

I think if you like how my stock looks, consider placing yours in a large deeper pot and all to grow almost freely.

 

[bonhe]

View attachment 130570

This one is trying to show the red stripe in white.
Bonhe