Chaenomeles speciosa Scarlet Storm - Flowering Quince

The Japanese Quince or Chaenomeles speciosa 'Scarlet Storm' is a brilliant and floriferous novelty, displaying along its inermous branches very large double camellia flowers, of a dark and deep red, with a golden heart. They herald, by the dozens, the beginning of spring with a fanfare, transforming this slightly stiff shrub into an incandescent bouquet. This variety is drought-resistant once established and does not produce fruit. It is generous and easy to grow, produces more flowers in the sun, and is easy to slot into a small garden. Its flowering branches are magnificent in the first bouquets.

The 'Scarlet Storm' Japanese Quince comes from Chaenomeles speciosa, a thorny shrub native to China and belonging to the Rosaceae family. This variety was recently obtained in North Carolina, United States, and differs from the typical species in its more modest growth, its inermous branches, and its fabulous flowering that is not followed by fruit formation. This dense shrub will form a rounded bush, approximately 1 to 1.2 m (3 ft 4 in to 3 ft 11 in) in height and width. Its flowering extends from April to May, for about 3 to 4 weeks. The very large and very fragrant flowers, reaching 5 to 6 cm (2 to 2.4 in) in diameter, are composed of numerous petals that overlap a little like those of certain roses. Then the flower opens up and reveals a yellow stamen heart. The flowers are carried by a very short or even absent pedicel, and grouped in 3 to 5 on the branches of the previous year. The leaves develop after the flowers; they are narrow to lanceolate, 3 to 9 cm (1.2 to 3.5 in) long and 1.5 to 5 cm (0.6 to 2 in) wide, with a beautiful shiny dark green on their upper surface. 'Scarlet Storm', bred and tested in the difficult conditions encountered in the Appalachian Mountains, proves to be particularly hardy and drought-tolerant.

Japanese quinces, like Forsythias and Japanese kerrias, bring us beautiful flowers in their simplicity, so eagerly awaited after a long winter. They are comfortable in all climates, as they are not afraid of heat or cold. They can be cultivated both in isolation and in groups. The 'Scarlet Storm' variety can also be used as a hedge, in the company of fragrant shrubs such as winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) that precedes it, white lilacs that will take over its flowering, followed by buddleias. This small shrub can also form a large ground cover on a slope, in the company of ground cover roses, creeping ceanothus or rosemary, for example. It can also be trained against a wall near the house, paired with a winter jasmine, to be enjoyed every time one passes by.