Flowering quince
Chaenomeles speciosa · Rosaceae
Waxy flowers in scarlet, pink, orange or white crowd the bare, thorny branches in very early spring. Hard, fragrant, yellow fruit follows and makes good jelly.
- Size
- 6 ft tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late March to late April
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around flowering quince
The planner designed this bed around flowering quince 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 stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Flowering quince × 1, red
- 2 Common thyme × 11, lavender
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 45, pink
- 4 Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' × 3, yellow
- 5 Southernwood × 3, grey-green leaves
- 6 Hyssop × 3, blue
- 7 Easter lily × 4, white
- 8 Persian fritillary × 3, purple
- 9 Star of Persia × 5, 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, flat plates, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only red.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6 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 southernwood (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 six weeks. From late March to late April.
- Opens the season. For its first five weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' and flowering quince anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. Common thyme and sedum 'Lidakense' finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 7 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
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 goes in a border
At 6 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ 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.
It flowers before almost any other shrub, and then has little to offer, so put it at the back, where later plants take over. The thorny tangle makes a good barrier.
- Early spring flowers
- Barrier hedges
- Cutting branches to force indoors
What to plant with flowering quince
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.
- Grape hyacinth: blue against orange, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for two weeks; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- Creeping phlox: purple against orange, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for two weeks; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about flowering quince
Does flowering quince need sun or shade?
Flowering quince grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does flowering quince grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does flowering quince 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 4 | Late March to early May |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late March to late April |
| Zone 6 | Mid March to mid April |
| Zone 7 | Early March to mid April |
| Zone 8 | 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 be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 ft (180 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many flowering quince plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is flowering quince 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?
Flowering quince comes from China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Flowering currant: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 16 in taller, pink, not red.
- Arrowwood viburnum 'Blue Muffin': the same job in a bed; 12 in narrower, flowers late May to mid June.
- Korean rhododendron 'Cornell Pink': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 8 in narrower, pink, 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?
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.
Will flowering quince spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by suckers into a wider clump. Remove the outer shoots to contain it.
What flowers after flowering quince?
Flowering quince is over by late April. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Creeping phlox: from mid April to mid May, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Blue false indigo: from late May to mid June, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lupine: from late May to early July, 3½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does flowering quince look like in winter?
Flowering quince 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 good for bees and butterflies?
Flowering quince is visited by butterflies and hummingbirds.
More Chaenomeles
- Flowering quince 'Cameo' Chaenomeles x superba 'Cameo'
- Flowering quince 'Double Take Scarlet' Chaenomeles speciosa 'Scarlet Storm' (Double Take Scarlet)
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- The first flowers of spring
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 6 ft (180 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late March to late April; open bowls; red, pink, orange, white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full 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.