Summer Flowering Chojubai
Unusual for a ‘Chojubai’ Japanese flowering quince, this old tree has been in full-on flowering mode since mid-August. Although a Chojubai can typically push a flower almost any month of the year, they are generally at peak flowering from January-April, before the leaves come out. This amount of flowering in the summer is not common.
It is common, though, to see this few leaves on a Chojubai at this time of year. In late summer more than half the leaves will yellow and drop off, and it’s nothing to panic over. The tree is just taking a break. In a couple more months all the leaves will be gone. So that’s what’s going on there. This tree not in the right pot, though, so please don’t write me about that… a smaller, square turquoise pot will be its new home next year.
Old Chojubai quince flowering in the summer! 16″/41 cm high
9 Comments
always appreciate seeing your comments on Chojubai. Was nice to have seen you in passing at the convention and i see your invited to spokane next year!
great! Know your a busy guy but anxious to get a translated copy of kinbon
that featured these quince. curious if you’ve seen the article translated and to learn if you were able to grasp something new from it. thanks
Dick benbow
Sure, let’s do this by email-
im sory, i just see the answer 🙂
thnaks for this good blog
sami
Hello from the U.S.!
There are two types of yellowing on Chojubai. One is the seasonal yellowing that starts happening in early summer, and it’s the whole leaf that yellows, and many older leaves will fall off. The other is only part of a leaf gets yellow, often around the edges. I’ve had samples sent off to a lab for testing thinking this might be Apple Mosaic Virus or something similar, but the results came back negative. I have always thought these mottled yellow leaves might be simply genetic, but I’m still not sure. It does not seem to affect the health of the tree at all. I still get 15″/38cm extensions on my younger Chojubai even though they have much of this patchy yellowing. Most Chojubai seem to have this patchy yellowing, and I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.
Sun and wind should not be a problem. Chojubai seem to live in just about any climate on the planet. They are ridiculously cold hardy, and in the hottest areas could use some shade cloth.
Thank you very much,
I think this is the first yellowing, because in France it is the beginning of the summer and some leaves start to yellow and fall.
My bonsai club plans on developing a workshop on choujubai quince. Any idea where I might locate some? Thanks.
I’d get on Telperion Farm’s list for next spring. I can’t speak for them, but they had a nice crop this past spring that sold out fast.
Great info! I think I have read all on Chojubai that you have published here. I am playing with a Japanese Flowering Quince Boke that I purchased from Bjorn this past June. It’s doing great but I hear a bit difficult to get ramification. I also purchased some Chojubai cuttings he had this past September. This growing season I have fallen in love with flowering multi trunk trees. I live in Michigan and we have many great apple orchards, so I think my conditions suit Chojubai. A few questions I have. Propagation cuttings and root cuttings? What phase for a cutting? What I mean like Japanese Maples use the shoot from last year. Can I use the sucker that you cut off? Do the fruit have seeds that I can grow?
Hi—yes, cuttings from anywhere on the plant can work, at any time of year. I’d not advise growing the seeds. They grow a plant that is less ramified. More like Boke. Good luck on your multiple trunk bonsai! I love them too.