Chaenomeles cathayensis
| Chaenomeles cathayensis | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 10' |
| Width: | 10' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Chaenomeles cathayensis (common name: chinese quince)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a sheltered position outdoors or in a cold frame[1]. Sow stored seed in February in a greenhouse[2]. Germination usually takes place within 6 weeks[2]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle. If well grown, these seedling can be large enough to plant out in the summer, but give them some protection in their first winter. Otherwise plant them out in late spring of the following year[K].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[3].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, November in a cold frame.
Layering in late spring or in autumn. This is a sure and easy method, though it takes 12 months[2][1].
Cultivation: Easily cultivated in any reasonably good soil[4][1]. Prefers a deep moist well-drained loam[5][3]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Tolerates full shade but requires a sunny position for best fruit production[6][3][1]. Becomes chlorotic on very alkaline soils[7][1]. Tolerates atmospheric pollution[1].
A very ornamental plant[4], it is hardy to about -25°c[1].
Plants are subject to canker, especially when growing in the milder moister areas of Britain[8]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[1].
Fruits are usually freely produced in Britain, but they do not always ripen[3][9]. The plant grows and fruits well on a south wall at Kew[K].
A good bee plant, flowering early in the year and providing pollen and nectar[10].
Range: E. Asia - China.
Habitat: Scrub and hedges in W. Hubei[11]. Slopes, forest margins and roadsides at elevations of 900 - 2500 metres[12].
Edibility: Fruit - very harsh raw but fragrant when cooked[4][6][5][3][13]. It makes an excellent jelly[14] and a very good jam, it is especially good cooked with apples in apple pies[K]. The fruit is very large and can be 15cm long and 9cm wide[1].
Medicinal: The fruit is antiemetic, antirheumatic, antispasmodic and digestive[15]. It is used in the treatment of rheumatic pain, convulsions of the calf muscles, vomiting, dyspepsia and diarrhoea[15].
Pollinators: Bees
Notes: We could supply this in the 1999 catalogue.
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Also Known As: C. laganaria cathayensis. Cydonia cathayensis. Hemsl.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Arnold-Forster, William. Shrubs for the Milder Counties.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Yeung, Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, 1985.