Contorted White Flowering Quince

[fredtruck]

I bought this Contorted White Flowering Quince from Brent Walston in January. It is 14” from the rim of the pot to the apex, and about 19” wide. There are a number of flower buds on the back side of the tree that have not opened, but I feel the twisted branches and the way they grow make this tree enjoyable any time.

Last week I slip potted it into this 8x8x6.75” Houtoku pot. In the fall, I will actually repot the tree, doing root work and pruning. I like the pot the tree is in now, but realize that there may be something out there that is better. I see the tree as one on top of a hill or overlooking a steep riverbank; thus the cascade pot. I’ve done a number of virtuals with other pots—mostly shallow, but quite wide, ovals, or deep ovals. None seem to work very well.

Any ideas?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my tree.

 

[A Random User]

Gotta say from my personal opinion...
I think you can get away with a busier looking pot.
For me, with all the movement in the branches,
I think you have an awesome opportunity to
use a pot that usually is to distracting for most
trees...

 

[fredtruck]

That's a very interesting idea.

 

[dick benbow]

I also think a nice colored pot in a cascade form would compliment the quince. don't be afraid to find something less conservative.....a nice yellow or aqua marine blue with design. you might want to take the tree and rotate it down so that the lead branch defintely looks more cascade like.

 

[JudyB]

I can't add to those already good suggestions fredtruck. But wanted to say that this is very nice already. Show us those blooms when they pop!

 

[fredtruck]

Thanks, Judy. I'll be sure to post a picture.

>>Dick Benbow--Actually, I bent the lowest scriggely shoot down below the rim of the pot. It helped a lot. Thanks for the suggestion.

When the blooms pop, I'll do a picture and you an see the semi-cascade and blossoms.

 

[fredtruck]

After what seemed like forever, I have flowers to show. The first picture shows an alternative "flower-viewing" front. The second is a closeup of the blossoms.

 

[JudyB]

Hey Fred, I always love your photographic artistry. Dreamy.

 

[mcpesq817]

I have a contorted white from Brent that I bought a couple of years ago. This variety is very vigorous, so I would offer that you could always grow out a new design fairly easily if you have one in mind.

 

[fredtruck]

Actually, I do, but time will tell. There is so much movement in this variety that there is a lot to work with.

mcpesq817, I'd like to see a picture of your contorted white. There aren't a lot of photographs of this variety of quince bonsai'd out there. Please feel free to post here.

 

[mcpesq817]

The interesting thing is that it doesn't seem all that contorted. I have a pink variety that seems to be considerably more naturally contorted. I've been wondering whether heavy fertilization pushes rapid growth that ends up diminishing the contorted effect.

I've been trying to grow out all my quince to thicken them up rather than instantly "bonsai" them, but they thicken incredibly slowly if at all. I have the 10-book Kyosuke Gun series on shohin bonsai, so I'm planning on using it to come up with shohin-sized quince.

 

[fredtruck]

Here's the design for my tree. It's rounded, like a clump, only this tree is a single trunk.

 

[Neli]

Looking good. It looks a bit like slanting style to me.

 

[fredtruck]

After a spring and summer’s growth, and a repot and a trim, here’s my contorted white in its fall color. I’ve been working with flowering quince for 13 years, and never had one quite like this. Generally, the thought is that quince should be shown while in flower. Because of the contorting, however, I think this tree could be displayed almost any time. I’ve also never had a quince bonsai actually have fall color like this one.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Love it! So it contorts naturally...without wiring?

 

[Neli]

It glows...

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Good trunk on that one!

 

[JudyB]

Nice fall shot Fred. Can you do another one with the pot included? I miss that pop of color contrast!

 

[Poink88]

You've got a very nice trunk on this but the lowest left (big) branch is robbing the tree that image. I am inclined to remove that left branch. It will leave the left barren but you can wire one branch from the back to the left. JMHO.

 

[Poink88]

Something like this (for your consideration only)

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