Flowering Quince

Chaenomeles x superba ‘Rowallane'

Japanese or Flowering Quince, or Japonica. 

Early flowering shrub displaying prolific vivid red flowers amidst leafless stems. 

Flowering Quince was first introduced to Britain in 1796 by Sir Joseph Banks. Lindley established the genus Chaenomeles in 1822 distinguishing it through the character of its fruit. The name takes its meaning from the Greek chaino, to gape; melon, apple. This is in allusion to a misunderstanding that the fruit is split. 

The species is an interspecific cross between C. japonica and C. speciosa which arose from a chance hybrid around 1898.

The cultivar was raised from a chance seedling by Hugh Armitage-Moore around 1920 and takes it name from the estate of Rowallane, Northern Ireland, now a National Trust property. It was awarded an RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993.

The plant is a low maintenance shrub suitable for a range of soils. It can be used as a low growing shrub or a wall shrub. Minimal pruning is required however you can lightly prune after flowering to promote flowers the following year. 

The shrub shown here is growing at Sheffield Botanic Garden. The small apple like fruits can be used for jam making, although a better specimen for this being one of the parents C. japonica with its highly fragrant fruits. 

References

Weber, C. (1963). CULTIVARS IN THE GENUS CHAENOMELES. Arnoldia, 23(3), 17-75.