Flowering Quince Propagation
Native to China, Chaenomeles, or flowering quince, flowers on the previous year’s wood. Like most shrubs, it can be propagated by layering, cuttings, or seed. Asexual propagation (propagating quince from cuttings or layering) will produce plants that are exact replicas of the parent plant. Sexual propagation with the help of pollinators and flowering quince seeds produces plants that will vary.
Propagating Quince from Cuttings
To propagate flowering quince by cuttings, take 6- to 8-inch (15 to 20.5 cm.) cuttings from last year’s growth. Remove lower leaves, then dip the cuttings in water and rooting hormone. Plant your cuttings in a mix of sphagnum peat and perlite, and water well. Growing cuttings in a hot, humid greenhouse or on top of a seedling heat mat will help them take root more quickly.
Flowering Quince Seeds
Flowering quince propagation by seed requires stratification. Stratification is a cooling period of the seed. In nature, winter provides this cooling period, but you can simulate it with your refrigerator. Collect your quince seeds and place them in the fridge for 4 weeks to 3 months. Then remove the seeds from the cold and plant them as you would any seed.
Propagation of Flowering Quince by Layering
A little trickier, flowering quince can be propagated by layering. In spring, take a long flexible branch of quince. Dig a hole 3-6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm.) deep next to this branch. Gently bend the flexible branch down into this hole with the tip of the branch able to stick out of the soil. Cut a slit in the part of the branch that will be under the soil and sprinkle with rooting hormone. Pin this part of the branch down in the hole with landscape pins and cover with soil. Be sure that the tip is sticking out of the soil. When the branch has developed its own roots, it can be cut from the parent plant.
