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Jesse Saylor
Rosaceae
CHAENOMELES speciosa 'Rubra'
Flowering Quince, Red Flowering Quince
Believed to be the original flowering quince collected from Japanese gardens in 1997 by Kew Gardens’ Director Sir Joseph Banks, ‘Rubra’ offers loads of single, glowing red flowers early in the season. When in bloom this Chinese shrub is a beauty, but through the rest of the season it has a coarse, rambling, ungainly look. Flowering quince is a spiny, medium-sized, deciduous shrub most noted for its clusters of bright red, bowl-shaped flowers that cover the plant in early spring, both before and after the foliage emerges. These are followed by small quince fruits that are edible and best eaten cooked into preserves or jelly.
The glossy, oval leaves of this hardy shrub are deep green and have small teeth along the edges. When they first emerge they have a reddish hue. The branches are armed with long thorns that are strong and can cause painful scratches. Pretty rosaceous blooms of red are produced in spring, and fragrant, yellow-green, apple-shaped fruits ripen in the fall but offer no visual appeal.
The tough and adaptable flowering quince accepts a wide range of growing conditions but grows best in full sun and well-drained loam. Periods of winter cold are needed for good flowering and fruit set. Spring buds are often damaged by cold in its northernmost zones. This informal landscape shrub combines well with other early-bloomers, such as forsythias and early bulbs, and its cut branches can be forced into bloom in late winter.
9 - 1
5 - 9
2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
Shrub
Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial Shade
3'-10' / 0.9m - 3.0m
4'-15' / 1.2m - 4.6m
Early Spring
China
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Well Drained
Clay, Loam, Sand
Drought
Medium
Drought Tolerant
Oval/Rounded
Spring
Showy
Red
Yellow Green
Red, Green, Bronze
Dark Green
Brown
Yes
No
Single
Glossy
Smooth
Cutflower, Edible, Hedges, Mixed Border, Screening / Wind Break, Topiary / Bonsai / Espalier
Birds
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