Name: Chaenomeles speciosa Japanese flowering quince

Type of Plant: A thorny, deciduous shrub that flowers in the early spring. This species stays shorter than others, and doesn’t sucker to the sides as much. This plant commonly grows to 3 or 4 feet tall and six feet wide.

Why I Love This Plant: These are one of the earliest flowering spring shrubs, with blooms that resemble semi-double roses. I love that some of them produce quince fruit, which is wonderful for making sorbets, jelly or syrups for cocktails. And I love how the pink, red or coral flowers look with other spring flowering plants.

A Word to the Wise: Quince should be placed where you’ll see them in the early spring, and near other shrubs that will flower later in the summer. So placing them in front of Hydrangea paniculata varieties, purple-leaf ninebark (Physocarpus) and with perennial Volcano Phlox, for example, would be a great combination.

Because of the spines and herky-jerky stems, these can make good low fences to keep animals and people from crossing boundaries.

Quince flowers open up as the leaves of this shrub are also developing. But the flowers are much larger than the foliage at this time of year. Some quince flowers are single, others are semi-double and additional varieties are double.

Texas Scarlet is a common short Quince variety that has bright red flowers.

If you want quince fruit, plant three to six shrubs and include at least two different varieties for cross-pollination.

Quince flowers blend and compliment other spring-flowering plants. Here, the variety called Cameo partners with a variegated Lunaria.