In a park last autumn, far from home, I stumbled across a Chinese quince, Pseudocydonia sinensis. I remember picking it up from the floor to examine its lovely custard-yellow skin and pleasing egg shape. It smelled divine. From there it made its way, absentmindedly, to my pocket, and a month later I found it. Miraculously, it had not rotted, so there was no reason not to crack it open and sow its seed. I pushed the seeds into a pot last winter and left them outside for a little cold stratification and forgot about them until I noticed five little seedlings this spring. It was a thrill to propagate something new.
Chinese quince sits somewhere between the east Asian shrub, chaenomeles, and the true quince, Cydonia oblonga. It has the vivid flowers of the former, but grows into a tree like the latter. It is edible, and used exactly the same way as quince to make jam or membrillo paste to eat with cheese. It is just as handsome, too, with mottled olive-green bark, oval evergreen leaves that turn a satisfying orange red in autumn, and fragrant pink flowers that bloom in late spring. It is perfect for a south-facing wall where the heat will ripen the fruit, particularly a sheltered city garden, as it’s pollution-tolerant, too.
It is, however, fairly rare. Both Burncoose Nurseries and Paramount Plants sell it, but it comes with a hefty price tag. Hence my joy at the five seedlings, which are growing stronger by the day. I am happy to play the long game: it will be years before they are big enough to plant out, but perhaps I’ll have space for them by then, or have found them a new home.
The art of propagation sometimes feels like a superpower; making new life, often for free. You take a tiny seed or a fragment of root or a new stem, and make a whole plant, or 10, or 100. Once you have mastered the basic skills, a whole world opens up, one where those with time and patience, rather than a good bank balance, are rewarded most.
The RHS Propagating Plants manual is a good starting point. I also love Michael Dirr’s Reference Manual Of Woody Plant Propagation, but these days YouTube, Facebook groups and Instagram hashtags are as useful. It was here that I stumbled on a brilliant online zine by The Young Propagators Society – a whimsical DIY affair blending art, poetry and lots of kickass propagation. It’s put together by two passionate horticulturalists, @Elliepotplants, of Crug Farm Plants, and @sophiecharlottecook, currently taking cuttings at Great Dixter. It’s the sort of thing the world needs more of right now.
