Pink Lady with Fall Flowers

[fredtruck]

I first noticed these flowers on my Pink Lady flowering quince yesterday. On looking over my tree closely, I noticed many more buds developing, so this isn’t the last of these fall flowers.

The earliest flowering of this tree I have on record is on November 11, 2003. That was the record until now.

I’ve had this quince since 2002. It has given me many hours of flowering pleasure since then. Enjoy!

 

[Cadillactaste]

I had a friend also notice flowers much earlier on a tree of hers. Makes me wonder what winter will bring...if things are blooming much earlier.

Now...that pairing and display is a work of art. Love the pot with the soft color of the bloom. Well complimenting each other. Please share more photos as those blooms begins to open up.

 

[JudyB]

Always happy when I see your new posts, I love the softer colors in flowers. This one will be nice to see updated. Thanks!

 

[fredtruck]

I'll do that, Darlene.

You'll also notice that the deeper into winter we go, the blossoms change color, and sometimes have different shades of pink on the same flower. Quince are fun to watch.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I'll do that, Darlene.

You'll also notice that the deeper into winter we go, the blossoms change color, and sometimes have different shades of pink on the same flower. Quince are fun to watch.

I'll be watching. Grimmy suggested I get a quince.

Following your updates. I may have to see about that.

 

[dick benbow]

thanks for posting...

My red chojubai went nuts this fall with blooms. I've never seen that amount of show, even in spring. Like to be able to take credit for it, but know in my heart of hearts, there's something else making it happen....

 

[fredtruck]

Pink Lady with Winter Flowers

Continuing by season, the Pink Lady is in the third flush of flowers. The color is much better now than in the fall.

As a side note, I chose the Pink Lady because of Peter Adams' book The Art of Flowering Bonsai. He has a nice chapter on quince, and one of those he features is Pink Lady. After having worked with this tree since 2002, I realize that there are much better choices for bonsai. Cultivars that develop more quickly, or those that have stronger root systems...those would be my top choices now. However, Pink Lady, once it gets going, has pleasing refinement. Ramification begins to show after 10 years. Additionally, this is a very tough Lady. After fighting off a few aphid infestations, being knocked over by the wind repeatedly before the roots were strong enough to hold the tree upright, suffering unintentional neglect, yet blooming consistently and strongly and continuing to grow, I really admire this plant!

 

[Cadillactaste]

Beautiful blooms...10 years of being worked...shows dedication...and it payed off! You see now the results of the fruits of your labor of love.

 

[fredtruck]

I repotted my Pink Lady Flowering Quince last week. As I was doing so, I thought about criticisms leveled at the tree in the past, and what I wanted to do with the tree at the moment. I have had the tree since 2002, and after initial development for 4 or 5 years, I hadn’t restyled it.


First, I discovered that there was a very healthy section of roots, and a rotten section. The rotten section included two prong roots that extended from the front of the tree, and a very odd root that was perpendicular to the trunk, which extended from the rear of the tree. I used that in the past to anchor a fairly large lava rock.


As these roots had been the focal point of past criticisms, I removed them. The lava rock also went, but the sandstone (?) remained. The Pink Lady is not exactly a root over rock. The roots of this quince don’t really give the tree any stability. In the early years, it used to regularly blow over in storms, by which I mean the trunks were flat to the soil after the winds stopped blowing. The trunks are wired and glued to the rock.


I used a fairly large nanban pot and with a lot of struggle, got the tree stabilized.


Then I cut back a few branches that I felt were too long.


The tree has put out flowers all summer, here and there. There are two very bright pink flowers growing on a thin shoot near the fork of the trunks. I’m looking forward to a lot more flowers in the late fall and winter.

 

[sorce]

rotten section.

Fred,
This, and the elm, seems like you may need a different soil?

What are you using?

I hope this is a limited problem.

Sorce

 

[Cypress187]

View attachment 81992

Fred, i have a tip: If you want to photoshop a black background for your tree you can better not take the picture on a white/light background (maybe gray would work), maybe google on the blending (layers or effect) in photoshop. I usually use a (black) inner-shadow to fix the "white glowing" edges.

 

[fredtruck]

Source: soil changed in both instances.

Cypress187: Thanks for the tip.

 

[fredtruck]

Ooops, sorry for the misspelling, Sorce. Auto-correct...

 

[fredtruck]

The Pink Lady has been flowering since mid-December. Here we go with the front of the tree:



As is so often the case with flowering bonsai, the back of the tree gives you a better look at the flowers:

 

[fredtruck]

Here is the Pink Lady at her flowering peak. This year, I noticed an unusual coloring in the flowers . The Lady doesn’t do this every year, but some years, there is a lot of variation. I’ve included a closeup so you can see it for yourself. You’ll find some flowers with a petal or two, half dark pink and half much lighter in tone. A few are mostly dark pink with a very light stripe. I can’t enumerate all the variations. Enjoy the flowers!

 

[Milly]

Lovely lady.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Thanks for sharing and update of the blooms...they are absolutely stunning!

 

[fredtruck]

Thanks, Darlene. Flowering trees were what attracted me to bonsai first. It's rewarding to have a few of them always flowering, for most of the year. Even in winter. I'm glad I can share them with you.