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Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) is a compact, beautifully flowering shrub. It not only decorates the garden, but also produces healthy fruits rich in vitamins. Careful choice of planting site, regular watering and proper pruning of quince in the fall affect the size of the harvest and the speed of plant development.
Another name for the shrub is Chaenomeles
Is it possible to cut Japanese quince?
Like most fruit trees and berry bushes, Japanese quince needs regular pruning. The procedure helps to create a beautiful crown shape, increase the access of light to each branch, and protect the plant from the spread of diseases and pests. According to the purpose of its implementation, it can be divided into several types:
- Sanitary pruning - designed to remove diseased, damaged, frozen branches in late autumn and winter.
- Formative - serves to stimulate shoot growth, increase productivity, and create a beautiful crown of the correct shape.
- Rejuvenating - applied no earlier than 10 years after planting when the formation of fruits decreases and the aging of the bush.
Pruning and shaping the crown of Japanese quince is painless for it if the basic rules and timing are followed.
When to prune Japanese quince
When starting to prune a quince, they are guided by its age and time of year. Spring is a favorable period for the procedure. It is important not to miss the moment and start cutting before the sap starts flowing. In central Russia it occurs at the end of March - beginning of April. It is during this period that the bush quince is pruned, removing not only weakened, but also horizontally located branches.
Summer pruning is less popular among gardeners; it is carried out to improve fruiting.
In winter, it is not worth pruning the Japanese quince bush, because in frosts even the most resistant varieties have fragile branches, wounds take a long time to heal, and the plant gets sick.
In the fall, they pinch out heavily overgrown shoots, get rid of old branches that do not bear fruit, and cut out vertical branches that interfere with the correct formation of the crown.
Without pruning in the fall or spring, the shrub may grow too tall and become difficult to harvest.
When to prune quince - in spring or autumn
The most optimal time for pruning quince is spring. After the procedure is carried out at the end of March, the plants quickly recover and begin the growing season. In the fall, pruning is carried out only as a last resort. Later removal of branches may result in complete freezing of the bush if winters in the growing region are frosty and have little snow.To avoid plant death, it is worth remembering that when pruning quince in autumn, you cannot shorten the crown by more than a third of its height.
Japanese quince pruning schemes
Causing minimal damage to the shrub is the main task during the pruning period. Most often, measures to form the crown, remove old branches and rejuvenate the entire plant are combined in time. Several schemes are used for this.
Rejuvenating
Quince pruning for rejuvenation should be done after reaching the age of ten years. With its help, you can speed up slowed growth and solve the problem of poor fruiting. Pruning is performed in spring or autumn according to the following scheme:
- Branches with growth that are more than three years old are removed.
- Ten-year-old shoots are shortened.
- Two-thirds of the entire crown is cut out, keeping from ten to fifteen branches of different ages.
- Downed and vertical specimens are removed.
- Sections and saw cuts are treated with garden varnish.
After pruning, no more than fifteen branches are left in the correct crown
Cupped
The scheme is applied in the fall and aims to give the crown a bowl shape, in which the plant will receive maximum sunlight. This is especially true in regions with harsh winters.
Pruning is carried out according to the following scheme:
- In the first year of life, skeletal branches are formed, which should be located at a distance of seven buds.
- The tier is created from five shoots directed in different directions.
- A gap of 35 cm is left between the first and second levels.
- The next year, the second tier is cut by 50 cm.
- The second and third are formed, shortening all shoots by 50%.
- The bud furthest from the trunk should be directed upward.
In the first year of fruiting
During this period, pruning of branches and crown formation is minimal.In order not to lose the harvest, already in the first year of fruit appearance, they adhere to a simple scheme:
- They examine the quince.
- Remove shoots that interfere with each other.
- Thin out intersecting branches.
- Annual shoots are shortened by a quarter.
Tree pruning
If the quince is grown in tree form, the pruning pattern is significantly different. Acting according to plan:
- The main trunk is formed by removing all shoots except one.
- Shorten the top, leaving 50-70 cm from the ground.
- After a year, the developed side branches are cut to 40 cm.
- Repeat the operation with new side shoots.
- Four years later, in the fall, skeletal branches are selected (like on an apple tree) and the excess ones are removed.
- The strongest annual specimens are shortened by a third of the length.
- After a few years, dry and damaged shoots are cut out.
- Remove all branches located inside the crown.
The branches are shortened to a bud, which faces outward from the crown
What tools and materials will be needed
To trim quince, you need a special tool. It must be clean, well sharpened and disinfected.
Secateurs
A pruner is necessary for cutting branches with a diameter of up to 2.5 cm. The working part has two interlocking metal blades made of steel with an anti-corrosion coating. According to the type of action, they can be contact (with a movable upper part) and planar (work like scissors). Handles can be plastic, rubber or metal.
Secateurs are a must-have tool for a gardener.
Scissors
With their help you can make even cuts on thin shoots. The device of the tool resembles metal scissors, but with longer blades.They are distinguished by their lightness, ergonomics, and the ability to make a soft cut due to the presence of a spring.
Garden hacksaw
A file with a serrated carbon steel blade and a rounded shape. With its help, you can remove quince branches of any thickness, making an even cut. The weight of the tool is light. Not suitable for removing small branches.
Lopper
It looks like scissors with long handles (from 30 cm to 90 cm) to create good leverage. Ideal for straightening branches if they, like quince, are covered with thorns. The largest type of garden tool. It is easy and convenient for them to work.
Garden varnish is applied to the pruning site with a thickness of 1.5-2 cm
Garden var
A viscous substance, insoluble in water, consisting of rosin, wax and interior fat. They are used to treat sections to protect the wounds that have appeared from damage by fungi, bacteria and from leakage of juice.
To make the process of pruning quince (photo) in the garden a pleasure, use gloves. For thorny bushes, it is better to choose thick, rubberized, reliably protecting hands.
How to properly trim and shape a Japanese quince bush
The quince crown overgrows quickly, so it needs periodic pruning. In autumn, remove old and dry shoots that interfere with the growth of new ones. In this case, the following rules are followed:
- Use quality tools.
- Form the correct crown.
- The branches are cut by a quarter.
- Events are held in the fall, but no later than mid-October, before the onset of persistent frosts.
How to properly prune a Japanese quince bush in the fall
To properly form a Japanese quince bush in the fall, you must act strictly according to the algorithm:
- Inspect the bushes and determine the angle of inclination of the branches relative to the trunk.
- Remove those with less than 45⁰.
- Leave a distance of 15 cm between the branches of the bottom row and 30 cm to the top row.
- Thin out the skeletal ones and cut them to 70 cm, leaving a bud at the very edge.
- Cut out the root shoots.
If you trim the Japanese quince too much in the fall, this can cause excessive shoot formation and the plant's energy being spent on the formation of green mass rather than on fruits.
Video for beginners - pruning quince in the fall:
How to prune quince in spring
In spring, it is necessary to observe the timing and order of haircuts. It is equally important to take care of the further care of the plant. The work is carried out according to plan:
- Dry, broken and frozen shoots are cut out to the growth point.
- Remove all branches whose growth is directed inside the bush.
- Only four strong stems are left at the root, removing all the growth.
- Trim shoots lying on the ground or pointing vertically upward.
- Shorten branches longer than 50 cm by a third.
Further care consists of abundant watering so that the plant receives a good charge of moisture for the whole season. Repeat moistening at the time of ovary formation and fruit growth.
Cutting Japanese quince in summer
Summer pruning of Japanese quince is less popular, but can be done under certain conditions. It has been established that with the lengthening of annual growths, the buds located in the lower part of the shoots germinate worse, as a result, this place is significantly exposed. Summer pruning allows you to get rid of this defect and create a new layer.
Quince flowers appear on the shoots of the current year, so the more growths, the higher the yield of the bush. The branching formed after pruning increases their number. To maximize it, shoots that reach 40 cm are shortened by a quarter.
It is permissible to carry out decorative pruning of quince in summer.This is done to give the shrub a special shape in order to fit it into the design of the site. If all the rules are followed, the plant tolerates pruning as easily as in spring and autumn.
Pruning in the fall is carried out after the bush has completely shed its foliage.
Conclusion
Knowing the rules for caring for berry bushes, pruning quince in the fall, spring or summer is not difficult for the gardener. Without it, it is impossible to achieve a high yield and excellent quality of fruits. Proper crown formation, timely watering and fertilizing allow you to grow quince in one place for up to forty years.
