Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Moerloosii’

After the South Lodge, the Grade II listed building on the Thompson Road drive, was restored in 2003, this very lovely shrub was planted. The delicately coloured flowers appear on bare stems in spring and continue blooming profusely for many weeks well after the leaves emerge. These have a red tinge when young and become shiny green.

One can cut a stem of this flowering quince in February, place in water in a sunny window and see the buds break into bloom. This is a useful plant for early pollinators. In autumn small, apple-like fruits appear; being rich in pectin they can be added to jams after being allowed to ripen. Sometimes they are used as an alternative to lemons.

C. speciosa was introduced into cultivation about 1784 and the cultivar ‘Moerloosii’ (from the Belgian Moerloos nursery) in the 1850s. The cultivar was given the Award of Garden Merit in 1993.

Although commonly known as Japanese quince, C. speciosa originates in China. There are two other species in the genus: C. cathayensis from Central China and C. japonica, which is from Japan! To add to the confusion, what we know as quince jelly (SW Asian, but brought here from Spain in the 13th century) is made from Cydonia oblonga, sole species of a separate genus, also in the rose family