Chanomeles, quince Japanese low
Family - Rosaceous. The motherland is Japan and China. Very beautiful decorative fruit shrub, characterized by precocity, yield and dwarf growth. The leaves are shiny, ovoid, dumps their quince late and adorns the apartment for a long time.
The stems of the henomeles with hard and hard thorns. Flowers up to 2.5 cm in diameter, red-pink-ruby or white-orange. There are plants with semi-double flowers. Flowers bloom before the leaves, the flowering period is 25-30 days. Long before flowering, reddish-pink buds look spectacular.
Fruits are yellowish-green or lemon-colored, weighing 30 - 40 g. They have a wonderful, stable aroma. In shape and color, the fruit of chanomeles resembles the usual quince, they are rich in vitamin C( 23 mg%), vitamin PP, pectin substances, malic and citric acid.
In the middle of Russia it grows in the open ground. A beautiful plant for decorating rooms, offices, shop windows, conservatories. In recent years, decorative varieties of chenomeles of American and Dutch selection have been distributed. The best of them are Brilliant, Simoni, Holland, Vesuvius, Pink Lady and others.
♦ Accommodation. Chaenomeles prefers a bright sunny place with high humidity. It grows well in the shade. In summer, the plant is best placed in the garden, on the balcony, terrace, loggia. Due to the fact that quince sheds leaves, in winter it should be kept in a cool room with a temperature not lower than +2 - + 5 ° C, it is possible in the dark.
From the age of 4 to 5, plants begin to bloom and bear fruit. Fruits ripen in September - October. From one room chaenomeles it is possible to collect 1 - 1.5 kg of fruit.
♦ Care. Regular watering during the period of growth and development( April - September).At the same time, fertilizers should be introduced, best azalium( acidic).In winter, watering almost ceases, you need to ensure that the soil does not dry out. A transplant until the age of five is carried out annually, at the oldest age - once every 3 to 4 years. The best substrate for planting and transplanting chanomeles are loam or sod-podzolic soils with a pH of 5.5 - 6.0.You can use ready-made substrates sold in stores, "Senpolia" or "Begonia" with a weakly acid reaction.
To accelerate fruit bearing in spring, a young annual plant standing on the window is cut at a height of 15 to 20 cm from the soil surface. This method accelerates the appearance of lateral shoots. At 3 - 4 years of age, the crown of a young plant is somewhat thickened, so it is advisable to perform a thinning pruning and removal of shoots that interfere with the penetration of light. We recommend this trimming every 3 to 4 years.
♦ Pests and diseases - scabbards, spider mites. Premature dropping of leaves from excess moisture.
♦ Reproduction - by seeds, green cuttings, root siblings. During seed propagation, the seeds are sown in autumn, immediately after harvesting.
In early summer, Japanese quince is well rooted in green cuttings. They are cut from a plant with 2 to 3 internodes. At this time, cuttings with a heel( 0.5-1 cm) are well rooted. Rooting is carried out, as usual, in pots with sand or peat in a ratio of 3: 1.If the pot with cuttings is covered with a film pouch, then at an air temperature of +20 - + 25 ° C the cuttings take root in 40 to 50 days.
Chenomeles often forms a root shoot, which can also be used to produce new plants.
Application of
The fruit of chanomeles is very fragrant, from them it is possible to prepare tasty jam, jams, candied fruits, compotes.
To preserve the characteristic flavor of fruits, we recommend that they be wrapped in soft paper immediately after collection and placed for 3 - 4 weeks in a dark place with a temperature of +8 - + 10 ° C.
Fresh fruits can be used immediately with tea drinking, like lemon. Significantly improves the taste of borscht, if you add a few lobules of chanomeles. A unique compote is obtained from these fruits.
Jam
For 1 kg of fruit, cut into slices, take 1.2 kg of sugar and 2 cups of water. The fruits are peeled and kept in cold water for 2-3 hours( to reduce the acid content).After that, quince is cooked, like any other jam, several times.
Candied fruit candies
Slices are removed from the prepared jam, allow to drain the syrup. Then the lobes are dried in a dish, sprinkled with powdered sugar and placed in glass jars, tightly closed with lids. Store in a dry room. From fruit of henomeles also prepare jujube, jelly, juice.