Chaenomeles known as ornamental
quince, flowering quince and frequently and incorrectly asked for as a Japonica.
Which means from Japan and can be related to many shrubs but apparently it’s
what Geoff Hamilton called the plant on one of his Gardener’s Worlds many years
ago!
I took a snap of this one yesterday because it looks
fabulous. This is Geisha Girl with apricot flowers. It’s slightly later flowering from March to May
and it has its Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.
Quince are part of the pear family and have fruit but it is
very hardy and takes hours to cook. It’s really
more ornamental. Like most plants that originate from Asia it’s hardy. It’s not
fussy. It’s a good all round shrub and will also grow well against a wall to about 1.3m .
