Flowering quince 'Cameo'
Chaenomeles x superba 'Cameo' · Rosaceae
Double flowers of soft apricot-pink on a low, spreading, nearly thornless shrub in early spring.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early April to early May
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around flowering quince 'Cameo'
The planner designed this bed around flowering quince 'Cameo' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why flowering quince 'Cameo' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Flowering quince 'Cameo' × 1, pink
- 2 Common thyme × 12, lavender
- 3 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 4, purple
- 4 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 3, tan
- 5 Wild quinine × 5, white
- 6 Chives × 8, purple
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Easter lily × 4, white
- 9 Allium 'Globemaster' × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are dense clusters, airy sprays, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only pink.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does switchgrass 'Prairie Sky'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to wild quinine (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From early April to early May.
- Opens the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 8 of the 8 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 5 kinds, from late May. The back corners are held by switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' and flowering quince 'Cameo', the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where flowering quince 'Cameo' goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The gentlest colour among the quinces, easy to place beside spring bulbs. Its low, wide habit suits a bank or the space under a window.
- Soft colour in early spring
- Low hedges and banks
- Cut branches
What to plant with flowering quince 'Cameo'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daffodil: in flower together for four weeks, from mid April; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Siberian squill: blue against orange, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for three weeks; low enough (5 in) to stand in front of it.
- Crocus: purple against orange, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for two weeks; low enough (5 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about flowering quince 'Cameo'
Does flowering quince 'Cameo' need sun or shade?
Flowering quince 'Cameo' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does flowering quince 'Cameo' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does flowering quince 'Cameo' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early April to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Early April to early May |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late March to late April |
| Zone 7 | Late March to mid April |
| Zone 8 | Mid March to mid April |
| Zone 9 | Early March to early April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should flowering quince 'Cameo' be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many flowering quince 'Cameo' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
What flowers after flowering quince 'Cameo'?
Flowering quince 'Cameo' is over by early May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Peony: from late May to late June, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bearded iris: from late May to mid June, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lupine: from late May to early July, 3½ ft tall.
What does flowering quince 'Cameo' look like in winter?
Flowering quince 'Cameo' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Chaenomeles
- Flowering quince Chaenomeles speciosa
- Flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' Chaenomeles speciosa 'Scarlet Storm' (Double Take Scarlet)
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early April to early May; open bowls; pink, orange
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.