Japanese Quince or Chaenomeles.

These have amazing flowers form March to May and many are happy in Sun and Shade.

They are all related to Roses and therefore need to be planted in nice clean soil, away from Rosaceous roots such as fruit trees, Mountain Ash and Laurel hedges, to name but a few.

They can be freestanding or trained against the wall and they can really brighten up, an otherwise dull corner.

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The fruits are edible and often used in making jellies, however the flavour is somewhat inferior, to that of Cydonia or the true Quince.

The Cydonia fruit is typically the size of one and a half Pears and the Chaenomeles fruits are about the size of a plum.

Many people use the fruit for their fragrance, as it is tradition to wait until the fruit is dark yellow, at some point in the autumn and then to put the harvest into a bowl, in the house, as the fragrance is wonderful.

Prepare the ground well to ensure a good depth of topsoil is available to the plant, as this will help it long-term, in the production of flower and fruit.

The stems are spiny, so be careful when handling and planting these very trainable plants.

The base of the plant is prone to suckering and it is best to remove the suckers, as they appear.

The flowers are produced on bare stems, before the leaves are fully produced.

I hope the photographs will do the flower of justice and possibly entice you to go and position one in your garden.

Traditionally, the Cheanomeles has been used, to great effect as it can be trained up against a wall or fence, and therefore not take up masses of room in a limited space and yet still provide a high yield fruit.

Position Chaenomeles somewhere near the windows of a house or when you frequent the area of the garden during the spring, as the flowers of the major selling point.

Here are some varieties to consider, however there are many varieties more than mentioned here.

Chaenomeles species Nivalis has white flowers and is reasonably vigorous.

Chaenomeles species Moerloosii has beautiful apricot to apple blossom coloured flowers and looks fantastic against a dark fence.

Chaenomeles Knaphill scarlet is one of my favourites for vibrant red flowers.

Chaenomeles Pink Lady is a fantastic pink flowered variety.

Chaenomeles species Contorta has the added bonus of fantastically congested zigzag stems, to look at, during the winter when there is no foliage.  This is a more unusual variety to get hold of, but we at Gardners talk have a regular source of this variety.  The flower is white flushed pink and this variety is best grown as a stand-alone shrub.

I hope this article has given you a taster of Chaenomeles and will entice you to go and plant one in your garden.  Good luck!!