How to cut, shape Japanese (henomeles) quince: in autumn, spring, summer

Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) is a compact, flowering shrub. It not only decorates the garden, but also gives useful fruits rich in vitamins. Careful choice of planting site, regular watering and proper pruning of quince in autumn affect the yield and the rate 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, protect the plant from the spread of diseases and pests. According to the purpose of the implementation, it can be divided into several types:

1. Sanitary pruning – designed to remove diseased, damaged, frozen branches in late autumn and winter.
2. Forming – serves to stimulate the growth of shoots, increase productivity, create a beautiful crown of the correct shape.
3. Anti-aging – is used no earlier than 10 years after planting with a decrease in the formation of fruits and aging of the shrub.

Pruning and shaping the crown of Japanese quince is painless for her, if the basic rules and terms of their implementation are observed.

When to prune Japanese quince

Starting pruning quince, focus on its age and season. Spring is a favorable period for the procedure. It is important not to miss the moment and start cutting before the start of sap flow. In central Our Country, 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 shrub, because even in the most resistant varieties the branches are fragile in frost, wounds heal for a long time, and the plant is sick.

In autumn, strongly overgrown shoots are pinched, old branches that do not bear fruit are removed, vertical ones are cut out that interfere with the proper formation of the crown.

Without pruning in autumn or spring, the shrub may grow too tall and become inconvenient for harvesting.

When to prune quince – in spring or autumn

The most optimal time for pruning quince is spring. After the procedure at the end of March, the plants quickly recover and begin vegetation. In the fall, cutting is carried out only as a last resort. Later removal of branches may result in complete freezing of the bush if the winters in the growing region are frosty and with little snow. To avoid the death of plants, it is worth remembering that when pruning quince in autumn, the crown cannot be shortened by more than a third of its height.

Japanese quince pruning patterns

Causing minimal damage to the shrub is the main task during the pruning period. Most often, measures to form a crown, remove old branches and rejuvenate the entire plant are combined in time. For this, several schemes are used.

Rejuvenating

Pruning quince for rejuvenation is necessary after reaching the age of ten years. With its help, you can accelerate slowed growth and solve the problem of poor fruiting. Pruning is performed in spring or autumn according to the scheme:

1. Remove branches with growth that are more than three years old.
2. Shorten ten-year shoots.
3. Cut out two-thirds of the entire crown, keeping ten to fifteen branches of different ages.
4. Lie down and vertical specimens are removed.
5. Slices and cuts are treated with garden pitch.

In the correct crown after pruning, no more than fifteen branches are left

Cupped

The scheme is applied in the fall and aims to give the crown the shape of a bowl, in which the plant will receive maximum sunlight. This is especially true in regions with severe winters.

Pruning is carried out according to the scheme:

1. In the first year of life, skeletal branches are formed, which should be located at a distance of seven buds.
2. A tier is created from five shoots directed in different directions.
3. Between the first and second levels leave a gap of 35 cm.
4. The next year, the second tier is cut by 50 cm.
5. Form the second and third, shortening all shoots by 50%.
6. The kidney farthest from the trunk should be directed upwards.

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 the appearance of fruits, they adhere to a simple scheme:

1. Looking at quince.
2. Remove shoots that interfere with each other.
3. Cut out crossing branches.
4. Shorten by a quarter annual shoots.

Wood trimming

If the quince is grown in the form of a tree, the pruning scheme is significantly different. Operating according to plan:

1. Form the main trunk, removing all shoots, except for one.
2. The top is shortened, leaving 50-70 cm from the ground.
3. A year later, the developed side branches are cut to 40 cm.
4. Repeat the operation with new side shoots.
5. Four years later, in the fall, skeletal branches are selected (as on an apple tree) and the excess ones are removed.
6. The strongest annual specimens are shortened by a third of the length.
7. A few years later, dry and damaged shoots are cut out.
8. Remove all branches located inside the crown.

The branches are shortened to a bud that faces outward from the crown.

What tools and materials will be required

A special tool is needed to cut quince. It must be clean, well sharpened and disinfected.

Secateurs

The secateurs are necessary for trimming 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 – a must-have tool for a gardener

Scissors

With the help of them, you can make even cuts on thin shoots. The device of the tool resembles metal scissors, but with longer blades. They are lightweight, ergonomic, the ability to make a soft cut due to the presence of a spring.

Garden hacksaw

Serrated blade made of carbon steel with a rounded shape. With its help, you can remove quince females of any thickness, making an even saw cut. The weight of the tool is small. Not suitable for removing small branches.

Delimbers

It looks like scissors with long handles (from 30 cm to 90 cm) to create a good leverage. Ideal for leveling branches if they are covered with thorns like quince. The largest type of garden tool. They are easy and convenient to work with.

Garden pitch is applied to the place of pruning with a thickness of 1,5-2 cm

Garden Var

A viscous substance, insoluble in water, consisting of rosin, wax and visceral fat. They are treated with sections to protect the wounds that have appeared from damage by fungi, bacteria and from the outflow 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 prune and shape a Japanese quince bush

The quince crown grows quickly, so it needs periodic pruning. In autumn, old and dry shoots are removed that interfere with the growth of new ones. At the same time, they adhere to the rules:

1. Use quality tools.
2. Form the correct crown.
3. The branches are cut to a quarter.
4. Events are held in autumn, but no later than mid-October, before the onset of stable frosts.

How to prune a Japanese quince bush in autumn

To properly form a quince bush in Japanese autumn, you must act strictly according to the algorithm:

1. Inspect the bushes and determine the angle of inclination of the branches relative to the trunk.
2. Remove those for which it is less than 45⁰.
3. Leave a distance of 15 cm between the branches of the lower row, and 30 cm to the top row.
4. Skeletal thin out and cut to 70 cm, leaving a kidney at the very edge.
5. Cut out rootstock.

If the Japanese quince is cut too much in the fall, this can provoke excessive shoot formation and the plant’s energy wasted on the formation of green mass, and not on the fruits.

Video for beginners – pruning quince in the fall:

How to prune quince in spring

In the spring, it is necessary to observe the terms and order of the haircut. It is equally important to take care of the further care of the plant. The work is carried out according to the plan:

1. Dry, broken and frozen shoots are cut out to the point of growth.
2. Remove all branches whose growth is directed inside the bush.
3. Only four strong stems are left at the root, removing all the shoots.
4. Cut off shoots lying on the ground or directed vertically upwards.
5. Shorten by a third the branches, the length of which is more than 50 cm.

Further care consists in abundant watering so that the plant receives a good charge of moisture for the whole season. Repeat moisturizing at the time of formation of ovaries and fruit growth.

Japanese quince shearing in summer

Summer pruning of the 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 tier.

Quince flowers appear on the shoots of the current year, so the more growths, the higher the yield of the shrub. Branching formed after pruning increases their number. To maximize it, shoots that have reached 40 cm are shortened by a quarter.

It is permissible to carry out decorative pruning of quince in the summer. This is done to give the shrub a special shape in order to fit it into the design of the site. Subject to all the rules, the plant tolerates a haircut as easily as in spring and autumn.

Pruning in the fall is carried out after the shrub has completely shed its foliage.

Conclusion

Knowing the rules for caring for berry bushes, pruning quince in autumn, spring or summer is not difficult for a gardener. Without it, it is impossible to achieve a high yield and excellent fruit quality. Proper crown formation, timely watering and fertilizing allow quince to be grown in one place for up to forty years.