Chaenomeles sp. (Flowering Quince) on 2-8-20.
Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you well. I woke up early this morning for a Saturday and couldn’t go back to sleep. I had taking photos for a Six On Saturday post on my mind so I got out of bed at 9. I got up, made coffee, fed the cats, and checked to see what the temperature was. 23°F. The sun is shining bright today and it looked GREAT! I went outside to take photos and it sure didn’t feel like 23°. By noon the National Weather Service says it was 35° and AccuWeather says 31. I always check several sites to see which one I like the best.
Here we go…
#1-Chaenomeles sp. (Flowering Quince).
Yesterday I went to a friend’s house to put a new battery in her smoke detector upstairs and noticed the Quince in her yard has started to leaf out. That triggered a Six On Saturday post right then. So, this morning I went right to the Quince in my yard to see what it was doing. Unfortunately, it hadn’t leafed out near as much as the one in Connie’s yard and all the close-up photos were not presentable. There are several species of Quince that might grow here and I have not figured this one out yet. It is a very old bush, likely planted by my grandparents in the 1960’s. Many older homes in town have Quince bushes in their yards.
*UPDATE: Thanks to Tony Tomeo I now know the Flowering Quince is a Chaenomeles species and not Cydonia. Cydonia species are fruiting Quince and Chaenomeles species are flowering Quince. I changed the name already…
I also noticed one of the Lilac bushes was really getting with it.
Lamium amplexicaule (Henbit) or Lamium purpureum (Dead Nettle) on 2-8-20.
#2) Lamium amplexicaule (Henbit) or Lamium purpureum (Dead Nettle).
I am not sure which of the two species this photo is of since they are both everywhere and growing together (for the most part). Their early leaves look so much alike you really can’t tell them apart. Truthfully, the Lamium started growing quite a while back so I am not sure if this counts as a sign of spring…
Phlomis ‘Edward Bowles’ under the pot on 2-8-20.
#3-Phlomis ‘Edward Bowles’.
Of course, I had to look under the pot covering the Phlomis ‘Edward Bowles’. Hmmm… It didn’t even turn brown this winter. I covered it a while back because of paranoia. I am going to say it again… “I HOPE IT FLOWERS THIS YEAR.”
Achillea millefolium by the chicken house on 2-8-20.
#4) Achillea millefolium (Yarrow).
Of course, the Achillea millefolium are growing new leaves. Only very cold temps make them completely disappear and as soon as they get a chance they send up new leaves to see if the coast is clear.
Heuchera ‘Venus’ on 2-8-20.
#5-Heuchera (Coral Bells).
Well, what can I say? I got excited when I saw the Heuchera growing new leaves. They had been covered with snow off and on so I hadn’t checked them earlier. Heuchera are another perennial that will start growing earlier than you might expect during a mild winter. I had to take photos of all of the Heuchera which would completely screw up Six On Saturday. So, I numbered them 5.1-5.4. I hope you don’t mind. 🙂 It’s just when the snow melts to reveal signs of life I get somewhat trigger happy with the camera.
#5.1-Heuchera ‘Venus’.
The above photo is the Heuchera ‘Venus’. Its new leaves have a completely different color than when they mature to a silvery-green with darker green veins.
Heuchera ‘Obsidian’ on 2-8-20.
#5.2-Heuchera ‘Obsidian’.
The Heuchera ‘Obsidian’ reportedly has the darkest leaves of the Heuchera cultivars but that depends a lot on the light. Oh, the Chickweed is also growing, which is definitely a sign of spring…
Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’ on 2-8-20.
#5.3-Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’.
The Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’ is ready for spring. Its leaves are nearly as dark as ‘Obsidian’ during the summer and the plant and leaves get much larger.
Heuchera ‘Lime Rickey’ on 2-8-20.
#5.4-Heuchera ‘Lime Rickey’.
I really like the chartreuse leaves of the Heuchera ‘Like Rickey’ and it is very good to see it growing new leaves. It is such a great plant to brighten up a shady bed.
Hosta ‘Potomac Pride’ on 2-8-20.
#6-Hosta ‘Potomac Pride’.
While I was photographing the Heuchera I looked under the leaves to see what the Hosta were doing. While I expected to see nothing, I was pleasantly surprised. I first checked the Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ and saw a sprout but I didn’t take a photo. Then I checked Hosta ‘Potomac Pride’ and had to take a photo. I didn’t check the rest because I knew that would lead to more photos and this Six On Saturday post would be all out of whack. Seeing the Hosta sprouting so early is definitely weird…
Kalanchoe x laetivirens (Mother of Thousands) on 2-8-20.
BONUS-Kalanchoe x laetivirens (Mother of Thousands).
Hmmm… Let me explain myself. First, I took a photo of this Kalanchoe before I went outside thinking I would use it for this post. By the time I was finished outside, I had too many photos. Since I already went overboard and sort of broke the rules with the Heuchera, I thought I just as well add a bonus photo.
I have been checking the buds on this Kalanchoe x laetivirens almost every day to see if the flowers have opened. I first noticed the buds on January 20 and since then they have grown but not opened. GEEZ! There are also more buds at the two upper stem nodes. I would say leaf nodes, but some experts say its leaves aren’t really leaves (since leaves don’t produce offsets from its margins). Anyway, I am patiently waiting…
That’s all I have to talk about at the moment, or at least it is time to stop. If you wish to participate in Six on Saturday posts, be sure to read the Six On Saturday-a participants guide from The Propagator.
Until next time, be safe, stay positive, and always be thankful. Your comments and “likes” are always appreciated.
The Belmont Rooster 
Quince is so RAD, but is also rare nowadays. They were not grown in the orchards here, but used to be popular in home gardens. The fruit was mixed with apricots to make jam, because the apricots lack pectin. When I was a kid, we got them cut in half and baked with sugar on top, like single serving apple pot pies. They also made nice apple sauce. Mine is a cutting from the main tree I grew up with. It came from a family of Portuguese descent, but they think that it might be a Mexican cultivar.
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Hello Tony! I always liked the Quince, but they can be a bit of a spreader. I have only seen fruit a couple of times in my life. I bit into one once when I was a kid and it wasn’t pleasant. It must have not been near ripe. Well, I was just a kid and eager to sample just about anything. 🙂 I need to do more homework and figure out the species. I grew up in town in a house where my grandparents lived before they built the house on the farm I now live on. So, they likely planted the Quince at both places, maybe even dig upa sucker from the yard in town and planted iton the farm. God only knows how far some of these shrubs go back and where they originally came from. Passed on from generations from Kentucky, Oklahoma, and now here. Thanks for the comment!
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Many were not intentionally planted at all, but grew from the understock of pear trees that succumbed to fireblight. Mine is supposedly a cultivar that was grown for fruit, but some of the best fruit comes from those that were not grown for fruit at all.
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Hmmm… What do you mean they grew from the understock of pear trees that succumed to fireblight? I don’t know why the Quince here don’t produce fruit since they flower up a storm.
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Are you referring to ‘flowering’ quince? They are grown for their prolific bloom prior to foliation. bloom of the most popular cultivars is a rich salmon pink, almost orange, but can be light pink or white. They are not grown for fruit, and only rarely produce a few small and spongy fruit that are not very good. They are not used for understock. Those that pear trees are grafted onto are a different genus that is grown for fruit in some cultures, although they are no longer very popular in America. The fruit is very hard, so is not easily eaten fresh. Flowering quince is Chaenomeles. Fruiting quince is Cydonia
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Hmmm… That could explain my dilemma… Several years ago when I did my initial search, I knew I had a flowering Quince but thought it was a Cydonia species. Last year when I tried to figure out the species none of them seemed to match. Now, thanks to you, I see I have a Chaenomeles species instead. That explains A LOT! Now I can do better research and MAYBE figure out the species so I can make its page. Thanks! 🙂
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Well, if it helps any, the bare stems in your picture look more like flowering quince. Fruiting quince tends to foliate first, and then bloom with fewer blushed white flowers that are somewhat obscured by the foliage. Fruiting quince is not nearly as prolific with bloom as flowering quince is. They sucker from the base, but do not spread as far as flowering quince does.
Someone else had this same concern two autumns ago, while trying to make jelly from the fruit of the flowering quince. Not only is is scarce, but it is not very useful.
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Oh, yeah. It is a Flowering Quince for sure… No mistaking that.
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