Reproductively distinct from the edible quince, Cydonia, the flowering quince, Chaenomeles, is sometimes rarely seen, but typically not an acquired taste. A relative to the rose, its flowers are also prominent and sometimes many petalled. Its thorny nature is also shared with roses. And like roses a flowering quince can also be creatively pruned.
Amongst God’s palette of early spring colors, which include very generously planted pink flowering trees at times, the indisputably coral color of some woody Chaenomeles introduces a subtle half orange early in the season, when it is unexpected, mixed with pink which is so prominent is cherries, crabapples, redbud, and almond.
Perhaps it’s striking to see any inkling of an orange flower on a woody plant, excepting its cousin, the rose, or an azalea, which bloom much later. We might see flowering quince as an example of a special colored and distinct paint of the unfolding of the seasonal temperate climate’s palette in our collective painting.
