Japanese Quince Care Guide

Water your Japanese Quince well when you first plant it, and keep watering it regularly (once or twice a week, more if it's very hot) for its first year while it gets established. Once it’s settled in, it's quite drought-tolerant and will usually only need watering during very long, hot, dry spells.

The best time to prune is right after it has finished flowering, usually in late spring or early summer.

For wall-trained plants: Cut back the shoots that grew this year to about 2-3 leaves from the main framework.

For freestanding shrubs: Remove any dead, damaged, or crossing branches. You can also thin out some older stems every few years to encourage new growth and keep the plant open and healthy.

Don't prune too late: Pruning after mid-summer might remove the wood where next year's flowers will grow.

This plant doesn't need much feeding. If your soil is poor, you can give it a general-purpose feed (like Growmore or fish, blood, and bone) in the spring, just as it starts growing. Avoid over-feeding.

Japanese Quince is generally very tough and trouble-free.

Aphids: Sometimes you might see greenfly or blackfly, especially on new shoots. You can often just wash them off with a jet of water or squash them.

Leaf Spot: You might notice dark spots on the leaves, especially in wet weather. It usually isn't serious. Clear away fallen leaves in autumn to help prevent it next year.

Fireblight: This is less common but more serious, causing shoots to look scorched and die back. If you see this, prune out the affected branches well below the damage, cutting into healthy wood, and clean your tools afterwards.

No, generally you do not need to protect your Japanese Quince in winter

Our Little Eden essentials course gives you all the basic skills you need to help your new plant thrive.