Chaenomeles cathayensis
Chinese quince
Also known as Cydonia cathayensis
- Height × spread
- 3m × 3m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Very cold to -20C (RHS H6)
- Flowers
- Spring
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This hearty and vigorous shrub has white, pink tinted simple flowers packed onto its branches during March and April. It produces splendid greenish yellow fruits in autumn, though they don't usually ripen enough to be used. The shrub should be hard pruned after flowering, otherwise, the flowers become immersed in the tangle of branches and lose their impact. In the wild, this is commonly seen as a hedge, or growing in scrubby sites. The leaves have reddish young growth.
- Flower colour
- Pink, White
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Fruit colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Dome
- Height
- 3m
- Spread
- 3m
- Season of interest
- Spring, Autumn
- Flowers in
- Spring
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Cottage garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun
- Soil type
- Clay, Loam (normal), Sandy soil
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Very cold to -20C (RHS H6)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Wall cover, Structural, Deer resistant, Rabbit resistant, Bee attraction, Bird attraction
- Walls
- North, South, East, West facing
- Maintenance
- Easycare – low/no maintenance
- Hazards
- Yes, stems are prickly/thorny
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with slow release fertiliser
Apply a general purpose slow release fertiliser, spreading it around the root area of the plant as it is coming into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water in dry periods
Established plants in the ground can cope with 7-10 days of dryness, and shrubs often manage 2 to 3 weeks. Water one section of the garden thoroughly each day rather than a little everywhere. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Prune after flowering
When the plant has flowered, cut all the flowered shoots back to healthy buds that are lower on the stems. When the plant is established, take out a quarter of the oldest branches to the ground at this time.
Planting & general
Outdoor planting · Planting
Add root growth stimulant to the planting hole
Mycorrhizal fungi helps roots establish quickly, so they absorb water and nutrients more efficiently. It comes as a powder, granule or gel. Add to the planting hole or container, and to the plant's rootball before planting in the hole. For "bareroot" plants use a gel.
Found in
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