Flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet'
Chaenomeles speciosa 'Scarlet Storm' (Double Take Scarlet) · Rosaceae
Large, fully double flowers of velvety scarlet, like small camellias, crowd the bare branches in early spring.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late March to late April
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet'
The planner designed this bed around flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' 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 'Double Take Scarlet' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' × 1, red
- 2 Common thyme × 8, lavender
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 32, pink
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 6 Wild lupine × 13, blue
- 7 Chives × 11, purple
- 8 Persian fritillary × 3, purple
- 9 Star of Persia × 4, purple
- 10 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only open bowls. The others are dense clusters, daisies, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only red. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is the tallest plant 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 lupine (20 in): 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 late March to late April.
- Opens the season. For its first four weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 11 of the 13 groups (85%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (lavender, pink, purple and blue) and uses red for warmth, with white to calm things between them. Sedum 'Lidakense' is planted in 8 places along the bed, which gives it rhythm.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
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 'Double Take Scarlet' goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 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.
A flowering quince with no thorns and no fruit, so it has the early colour without the scratches or the mess. It flowers on old wood: prune straight after flowering.
- Early spring colour
- Cut branches for forcing indoors
- Thornless hedges
What to plant with flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daffodil: in flower together for three weeks, from mid April; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Forsythia: in flower together for four weeks, from late March; tall enough (8 ft) to stand behind it.
- Grape hyacinth: in flower together for two weeks, from mid April; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet'
Does flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' need sun or shade?
Flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' 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 'Double Take Scarlet' 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 'Double Take Scarlet' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late March to late April. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Late March to late April |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late March to mid April |
| Zone 7 | Mid March to mid April |
| Zone 8 | Early March to early April |
| Zone 9 | Early March to late March |
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 'Double Take Scarlet' 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 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' 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.
Is flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet'?
Flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' comes from China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Black chokeberry: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early May to late May, white, not red.
- Ninebark 'Dart's Gold': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to late June, white, not red.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet'?
Flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' is over by late April. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Blue false indigo: from late May to mid June, 4 ft tall.
- Lupine: from late May to early July, 3½ 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.
What does flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' look like in winter?
Flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' good for bees and butterflies?
Flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' is visited by butterflies and hummingbirds.
More Chaenomeles
- Flowering quince Chaenomeles speciosa
- Flowering quince 'Cameo' Chaenomeles x superba 'Cameo'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late March to late April; open bowls; red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- China
- Attracts
- Butterflies, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, salt
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.