Chaenomeles japonica
The Japanese Quince is much loved for their tiny, lovely flowers and showy golden fruit. The flower colours vary from white to pink to orange to red and flower before leafing out. The round fruit, though hard to eat make, great jams, preserves and drinks.
Styles and Sizes: Commonly grown as Cascading or Clump style bonsai, the make dainty tiny to medium bonsai.
Position: It’s tolerant of the amount of sun it can take and can grow in full shade, semi-shade or full sun. As bonsai for best flowering and fruiting results though it is best placed in a full-sun aspect.
Watering: Water thoroughly early in the morning to ensure that the bonsai has the water when it needs it and is not sitting in water overnight. When water just water the pot as watering the crown will damage any flower and rot the fruit.
Feeding: Feed with an organic fertiliser, every two weeks with a liquid fertiliser or every two months if using a pelletised version. Lime helps to set the fruit and balance out any excessive acidity of the organic feed.
Repotting: Repotting every year helps keep your clumps in control. Best repot in Autumn after flowering and fruiting. Use a free-draining soil, of loam, sharp sand and well-mulched bark in equal parts. Alternatively, you can use Akadama and pumice in a ratio of 2 to one by volume.
Pruning: New shoots should be cut back to 3 later shoots, or active buds after 5-7 leaves have formed. The Quince sucker regularly and they need to be pruned away to encourage a stronger trunk. Pruning back hard every few years will promote stronger growth.
Wiring: These plants are most often grown in clump style, and wiring is not necessary. If needed Chaenomeles need to be wired wire in autumn and remove before spring flowering starts.
Buy species: You can find Japanese Quince on amazon.co.uk
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