Chaenomeles superba Salmon Horizon - Flowering Quince

The Chaenomeles x superba 'Salmon Horizon' is a rustic and romantic-looking bush that bears garlands of large salmon-pink flowers in March-April on its bare branches. It is a dwarf variety of Japanese quince that is well-suited to small gardens and container cultivation. The early flowering is followed, in autumn, by small hard fruits, initially green and then yellow, which can be cooked and used to make jam or jelly. With its dense, thorny, often tangled branches, this bush is also interesting for adding to a small defensive hedge.

Chaenomeles x superba is a horticultural hybrid obtained around 1900 by G. Frahm in a German nursery. It is the result of cross-breeding between the Chaenomeles japonica, the true Japanese quince, and its close relative, the C. speciosa. These two bushes from the Rosaceae family, native to East Asia, are perfectly cold-resistant.

The 'Salmon Horizon' cultivar is a slightly suckering bush, of fairly fast growth, with a very dense, rounded to slightly spreading habit, reaching about 1.50 m (5ft) in height and 2 m (7ft) in width when mature. Its flowering takes place in March-April depending on the weather, shortly before or at the same time as the foliage appears. On its previous year's branches, equipped with long, fine, sharp thorns, bloom 4 cm (2in) diameter flowers, grouped in 3 to 5. Cup-shaped, they are composed of 5 to 8 salmon-pink petals surrounding a dark red stamen heart covered in yellow pollen. They are followed by rounded and fragrant yellow fruits, measuring 4-5 cm (2in) in diameter. Its deciduous foliage, which falls in winter, is dark green, sometimes tinged with purple on young leaves. The entire, elongated oval-shaped leaves measure from 3 to 6 cm (1 to 2in) in length.

The Japanese quince is a very robust plant, to the point that it sometimes survives in the middle of brambles, in old abandoned hedges. It can be used in flower beds, in a free or defensive hedge, or even in containers on the terrace or balcony. It is also appreciated by bonsai enthusiasts. In a defensive hedge, it can be associated, for example, with Rubra rugosa rose, Poncirus trifoliata, holly, etc.

An extract called cananga essence is obtained from the fruit, not to be confused with the one derived from Cananga odorata, the Ylang-ylang. It is also a medicinal plant.