Pseudocydonia sinensis Seeds | Chinese Quince
LATIN NAME: Pseudocydonia sinensis
COMMON NAME: Chinese Quince
Plant Profile
Chinese Quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis) is a generous, easy tree. The Chinese quince is a handsome, hardy, fruit-bearing tree of east, and its large, golden-yellow, hard, aromatic fruits have been grown for preserves and fragrance for a very long time. Tree has a fine, open crown of glossy, toothed leaves and pretty, pale-pink, cup-shaped flowers in spring, and large, fragrant, golden fruits follow in the autumn. Fruits are too hard and acid to eat fresh, but they fill a room with their scent and make a fine, clear jelly. When it flowers, local bees and other insects make good use of it. Each of these traits is modest on its own; together they make a garden-worthy plant.
Science & Biotechnology
Pseudocydonia sinensis sits in the Pseudocydonia group, a group that keeps botanists, horticulturists and plant breeders busy with questions of classification, adaptation and ornamental potential. The Chinese quince has a quiet but real place in plant science, and it has been studied for its large, fragrant, golden fruits and its long record of use in the east. Raising it from seed today is a matter of ordinary good practice rather than specialist skill.
Uses & Benefits
Chinese Quince works well in borders, containers and dedicated beds. The Chinese quince is grown for fragrant fruits and fine, hardy tree. Golden-yellow fruits are too hard and acid to eat fresh, but they make a fine, clear jelly and a fragrant preserve, and a bowl of them will scent a whole room. Tree is a fine, hardy specimen for sunny garden, with pretty, pale-pink spring flowers and glossy, toothed foliage. Once it has its roots down, it more or less looks after itself.
Chinese quince is a fragrant, vitamin-C-rich autumn fruit for jellies and preserves, and a close analogue of the medicinal Mu Gua of Chinese practice.
Growing from Seed
Sow fresh seed of Chinese Quince under ordinary good conditions. Level a tray of loose seed compost, sow evenly, cover to about the seed’s own depth, and keep it moist in full light. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
Its long record of traditional use, described above, gives the plant a story beyond ornament. It grows as a generous, easy tree, so its place in the garden is easy to plan. Start with fresh seed, keep it evenly moist, and the plant does the rest itself.
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