Chinese quince
Posted: February 1st, 2010, 12:32 pm
Before I start this ramble I am ashamed to confess that I don't have a credible specimen of this species in my collection. I have been growing them for years though and use them a lot in my landscaping work, as well as selling a few in the nursery.
The japanese grow many beautiful deciduous tree species. Some of them seem to appear only rarely such as magnolia kobus or cornus kousa. Others are often seen such as Fagus crenata,stewartia monadelpha and pseudocydonia sinensis (chinese quince). The former two can only be grown in the coolest parts of Australia and should be much used by Tasmanian growers. The chinese quince (c q ) however would flourish in many parts of the country.
C Q is an often seen species in Japanese collections and its easy to see why. This is a tree with many attributes, in spring it flowers in a very subtle way, soft pink. The foliage is a lovely rich green and colours well in autumn in red-orange tones. The fruit which is large hangs on its branches well into winter and the trees exhibited at Kokufu are often seen carrying fruit.But the main attribute of this species is the bark which with age takes on the mottled tones often associated with smooth barked gums or crepe myrtles.
C Q are slow growing trees and take a long time for the trunk to reach the caliper required to display their superb bark. I have some here that have been in the ground for 4 years and I reckon it will be at least another 5 years before I can pot them and begin working on the branches. This is a deciduous species which gives the powerful feel you would expect to find in conifers. They are generally grown as large trees around the 85cm mark. I have sometimes seen them as shohin but very much at the large end of the spectrum.
C Q seem to lose their leaves and then form buds almost straight away so root pruning must be done much earlier than with other deciduous species. The branch ramification is very very slow to develop and is much more course than many other Japanese trees. They will with time develop a very powerful root spread.
A tree grown in the ground will take a few years to fruit heavily but once they do most of the seed is very viable. I have always had great success raising these trees from seed. I have never grown them from cuttings as the seed is so easy but I am sure it is possible.
For the younger growers out there I reckon this is a species worth trying and should be seen much more often in Australian collections. A quick flick through any of the Kokufu albums will show you many incredible examples of these trees. One afterthought large cuts on these trees heal easily which is great because you need them to develop the size required by this species.
Craig
The japanese grow many beautiful deciduous tree species. Some of them seem to appear only rarely such as magnolia kobus or cornus kousa. Others are often seen such as Fagus crenata,stewartia monadelpha and pseudocydonia sinensis (chinese quince). The former two can only be grown in the coolest parts of Australia and should be much used by Tasmanian growers. The chinese quince (c q ) however would flourish in many parts of the country.
C Q is an often seen species in Japanese collections and its easy to see why. This is a tree with many attributes, in spring it flowers in a very subtle way, soft pink. The foliage is a lovely rich green and colours well in autumn in red-orange tones. The fruit which is large hangs on its branches well into winter and the trees exhibited at Kokufu are often seen carrying fruit.But the main attribute of this species is the bark which with age takes on the mottled tones often associated with smooth barked gums or crepe myrtles.
C Q are slow growing trees and take a long time for the trunk to reach the caliper required to display their superb bark. I have some here that have been in the ground for 4 years and I reckon it will be at least another 5 years before I can pot them and begin working on the branches. This is a deciduous species which gives the powerful feel you would expect to find in conifers. They are generally grown as large trees around the 85cm mark. I have sometimes seen them as shohin but very much at the large end of the spectrum.
C Q seem to lose their leaves and then form buds almost straight away so root pruning must be done much earlier than with other deciduous species. The branch ramification is very very slow to develop and is much more course than many other Japanese trees. They will with time develop a very powerful root spread.
A tree grown in the ground will take a few years to fruit heavily but once they do most of the seed is very viable. I have always had great success raising these trees from seed. I have never grown them from cuttings as the seed is so easy but I am sure it is possible.
For the younger growers out there I reckon this is a species worth trying and should be seen much more often in Australian collections. A quick flick through any of the Kokufu albums will show you many incredible examples of these trees. One afterthought large cuts on these trees heal easily which is great because you need them to develop the size required by this species.
Craig
