Quince Seeds - Kusa-Boke (Japanese Flowering)
(Chaenomeles japonica) Deciduous. Zones 5-8.
This species is an old one - it has been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years! It arrived in North America in the 1800’s, a favorite on farms because it is low maintenance and produces edible fruit.
Kusa-Boke is a densely-branched ornamental shrub with spiny, often-tangled, gray-brown twigs.
A member of the rose family, it has elegant and show stopping flowers. It blooms at the same time as forsythia in early Spring with a dramatic burst of bright orange-scarlet flowers with creamy white stamens.
Flowers are followed by a bounty of hard, greenish-yellow fruits that become deliciously fragrant when they ripen in Autumn. Quince fruit are high in vitamin C and natural pectin, and a natural alternative to commercial pectin for canning and preserving.
The raw fruit are bitter, but their tart green apple and lemon flavour lends itself beautifully to jams, jellies, glazes, and compotes. Quince paste is delicious spread on crackers, served with rich cheese, or as a tangy accompaniment to roast meat.
Japanese Flowering Quince are easy to care for, adaptable, and almost indestructible! They make a lovely hedge, shrub border, or focal point in a cottage garden and can even be espaliered against a wall. Clip a few branches on a warm winter day to force bright and cheery indoor blooms.
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Cold Hardiness: Zones 5 - 8
Edible: Yes
Size: Small Shrub
Growth Rate: Medium
Nitrogen Fixer: No
Native Plant: No
Germination: 50 - 70%
Sun Requirements: Full Sun - partial shade
Soil Preference: Does well with average, well draining soil. Tolerant of many soil types..
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GROWING INSTRUCTIONS
SEED PRETREATMENT: Soak seeds in water for 24 hours. Mix seeds with a moistened grow medium equal to 3-4 times seed volume. Place in a plastic bag, covered tray/cells or container.
STRATIFICATION: 90 days cold/moist (5°C). Place plastic bag with seeds and soil in your refrigerator, preferably in a veggie crisper. Inspect periodically for even moisture and germination.
POST-STRATIFICATION: Sow stratified seeds 1/4” deep, ideally in a peat/perlite mix. Ideal soil temperature for germination is 20°C. Water evenly and regularly.
GERMINATION: When all previously mentioned requirements are fulfilled, germination generally occurs in 35-50 days.
How To Stratify Your Tree Seeds
*Excited about growing Fruit Trees from seed? Learn more HERE.*
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Available direct from Incredible Seeds, a Canadian Heirloom and Heritage Seed Company, offering only the best natural, non-GMO, open pollinated and untreated seeds, located in Mi'kma'ki / Nova Scotia.
