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
- Soak seeds for 24 hours. Follow 90 days cold, moist stratification. For more information on stratification, check out our article "How To Stratify Your Tree Seeds".
*If you are doing the cold period in your fridge, please check on your seeds. 90 days is an estimate & they may sprout sooner.*
- Plant stratified seeds in deep pots or a nursery bed using standard potting soil. Heat mats are NOT required & can hinder germination!
- Protect young tree seedlings from slugs, cutworms & rodents. Slugs especially can eat primary leaves as soon as they come up, so be vigilant!
*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.
