I'm in SE Texas. Zone 8. First one is at my aunt's house. Pretty pink flowers on woody stems. Not much foliage. unknown ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) the other one I spotted down the road. Sorry about the bad photo.... that's as close as I good get and used the zoom. Full of large red blossoms that reminded me of carnations. Maybe it's a Camillia? unknown - red flowers ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) Thanks in advance for any help IDing them. I need some early bloomers... and maybe I can add these.
I think the first one is Chaenomeles japonica (Maule's Quince, Japanese Quince) The second one could be a Gomphrena globosa (Globe Amaranth)
The camellia I have seen is more tree like, large waxy leaves. But there could be several varieties. I thought the top one looked like forsythia.
While Forsythia is normally seen in yellow, there is a pink Forsythia but the flowers are different. The Flowering Quince blooms first, then the leaves appear and the fruit forms....similar to other fruit trees. I'm having second thoughts about the second one being Gomphrena...the leaves a are just not right but I know I have seen it in catalogs before.
The first one will be easy for me to monitor and get better photos. I know it's been there for years, just really haven't paid much attention to it. It's growing on the east side of her house and takes care of itself. It does remind me of a Quince. The second one has also been growing for at least the last 3 or so years. I remember noticing it last year, just not this early. It's probably about 6 foot tall. The blooms are full and maybe about 3-4 inches. It's growing on the south side of the house with mostly shade.
Great! Wonder if I could get a start from my aunt's Quince? I'll have to take a closer look when I go there this evening to feed her cats. I'd love to have a Camellia, but I don't think I have a shady spot for it. Time to do some reading and maybe add them to my 2014 wish list. Thanks everyone!
Careful with that Quince. At least around here, it's a real pain in the ... It grows in all directions, can't be pruned nicely, has terrible thorns, spikes, etc! And it's hard to get rid of it. Unless you dig and dig for all roots. You can dig some dirt around the outer stems and try to separate it with a little root. Very easy to multiply it like that. But I'm sure cutting rooting is also fairly easy.
I didn't notice any thorns. And it's been there for years and hasn't spread. Maybe I should get some more photos?
How big is the first plant? Chaenomeles speciosa grow to 6-10 feet tall and wide. Chaenomeles japonica only grows to be 2-3 feet tall and 3-6 feet wide. They can spread from root suckers which can be removed to prevent a problem, it does have thorns but they are not as prominent as those on it's cousin the Rose. It's thorns are way fewer, some long, some short but they tend to look like little off-shoots of the stem instead of thorns on the Rose so from a distance they may not be noticable. The thorns make it a really good hedge plant to keep critters, two legged and four legged out of the yard. If that one is a speciosa it is growing at the southern most limit of it's growing zones 4-8. One growing in the more northern zones where it is cooler and wetter will love it and spreading can be a problem. But when a plant is growing in a climate that is putting stress on it, it will not have the energy put out shoots so spreading isn't a big problem. I included that link the Chaenomeles japonica because at the time I didn't realize there were three species and because that is the only Quince plant in our database with any information....sorry for adding to the confusion.
Toni... it's about 6 foot tall and maybe 3 foot wide... or less. Since my 97 year old aunt can't get out there and tend to any of her plants anymore, it's looking a little scraggly. I'll take a little time when I go by there on the way home and get some more photos. Especially going to look for thorns.
If she wants it pruned, you can do it after the blooms have faded but at that time you loose a lot of fruit. It blooms on old growth so don't cut it way down or there will be no blooms for a couple of years after. But pruning isn't really needed for the plants health, it's just for aesthetics.
I'll be keeping an eye on it over the next few months. I really haven't paid close attention to it, but don't recall seeing any "fruit" on it last year when Hubby and I did some work near it on her front porch. I looked today... no thorns anywhere. Not even on the oldest wood. Here's some more photos. unknown - leaf ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) unknown - blossoms ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) unknown - full view about 6 ft tall ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) unknown - view of base/branches ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) I snipped off a few green twigs, but will bring my shovel tomorrow to see if I can dig up something with some roots on it (since I totally suck at getting hard cuttings started).
