Quackin Grass Nursery

Pseudocydonia sinensis - Chinese Quince. Fragrant spring flowers are pink, from pastel to darker shades varying from tree to tree. Foliage is simple, relatively thick and glossed with lots of serration at the margins. Leaves turn glorious colors in fall before leaf drop in shades of gold, orange and / or crimson. This tree at the southern end of its growing range may actually hold on to some of its leaves in winter. This quality is known as matrescence. Some folks hate it. Others like the subdued interest and the song of the winter breezes rustling the foliage. The large yellow elliptic fruits which can grow from 5 to 6 inches long ripen in autumn and emit a delicious aroma. These may be used to make jelly, chutney and syrups. Just have a sweetening element at arm's reach and plenty of it. Some say that you can eat the fruit right off the tree but it is astringent. The bark is exceptional, rivaling that of Stewartia pseudocamellia with irregular rounds and spots in nickel, olive, brown. It is smooth with some exfoliation. Trunks become increasingly fluted. and Though listed as growing between 10 and 20 feet tall this slow growing monotypic genus may top off at an ultimate height of 40 feet where happy. Not seen often enough. The first and only specimen I ever encountered was in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan many years ago. Full sun in fertile, draining soil. Established potted tree from seed, maybe cutting.