Hi all: we have a flowering quince bush in our yard, and each year enjoy the beautiful flowers. I was wondering if anybody had any experience grafting anything edible onto flowering quince?
In another thread, John said he has grafted a red crabapple onto it. I am guessing that flowering quince must actually be a type of quince. But what theoretically could be grown on it? And what experiences have you had?
[quote="jadeforrest":3lqy49bz]Hi all: we have a flowering quince bush in our yard, and each year enjoy the beautiful flowers. I was wondering if anybody had any experience grafting anything edible onto flowering quince?
In another thread, John said he has grafted a red crabapple onto it. I am guessing that flowering quince must actually be a type of quince. But what theoretically could be grown on it? And what experiences have you had?[/quote:3lqy49bz]
This probably isn't what you are looking for, but the first thing I would graft onto it is the larger fruiting "edible" quince like Aromatnaya. Cooked or processed I like them much better than other pomme fruit and at the rate you are going you aren't going to be able to eat everything fresh.
I find the fruiting quince tree hard to graft to. It's also a slow growing tree. THe flowering quince bush with red flowers and thorns (chaenomeles-It's japanese) is what I graft to. It grows fast, fruits quickly, and is very easy to turn into more plants, even if you don't want to. It doesn't get rust like the Cydonia fruit tree quince does. I find it works great for grafting crabapple onto. If I let the flowering quince stock crabapple bush grow up, I might graft a shipova or something bigger onto it. Once it' a large bush, it could probably support regular apples, maybe not Wolf River. I love Cydonia large fruit quince tree, just not for grafting.
John S
PDX OR
John, can the flowering quince be started from cuttings? How best to multiply it?
And do they sucker extensively when used for apple stock?
If it does, I'm happy to provide cuttings! (at least I'm pretty sure what I have is flowering quince)
They can sucker, but once they are grafted low, I haven't found them to continue to sucker. It' s almost like they are branching. They can't tell what you are trying to do with them.
You can start them easily from cuttings or their prolific seeds. They grow fast.
I am also happy to provide cuttings or seeds.
John S
PDX OR
By the way, mine fruits prolifically as well. The fruit is dense but it tastes like lemons. I make lemonade out of it. I don't cook it. I just grind it. I can make several large cups of lemonade out of one fruit. I put nothing else in it.
Chaenomeles japonica is edible. The fruit cooks down into a smooth sauce surprisingly easily. It's very tart, but the perfumey character of it makes a good sauce with meat when it 's sweetened. I have some from Lithuania that is only two to three feet tall and is extremely productive. It also blooms longer than most standard flowering quince.
-Lon Rombough
John,
Can you speak to how tall and bushy an apple on quince would grow? Could a person have a hedge of them for instance. Really curious.
Do you have a regimen for producing rooted cuttings? Do you take cuttings in winter, dip in hormone powder and plant in cold soil? or what?
Thanks!
Hey Plumfan,
I just take cuttings whenever it's wet, like Oct-May. The ones planted before April will more likely grow into plants. I slit the sides on the part I will plant so roots can grow out and plant them. Almost all will take. At this time of year the % is less. I've never used root hormone because I've never had to. This plant is aggressive here. I graft them the next year.
Mine haven't grown up enough to make a hedge but I'm sure you could. The regular plant can get up to 10' high, and crabapple isn't going to dwarf it. If you graft crabapple low enough the plant is basically thornless. Aronia works the same and is not thorny, although probably more people probably have old flowering quince plants around than aronia.
John S
PDX OR
John,
Big thanks for the propagation tip. I will try them as stocks next year. I spose regular quince could be put on them as well.
probably more people probably have old flowering quince plants around than aronia.
I think you are right, as the quince has far prettier blossoms than aronia, which is pretty boring blossomwise.
I've got apple grafted to aronia this year. It has pushed through the Doc Farwell glue, looks good so far! Time is really the test on these intergeneric grafts.