Japanese quince ‘Nivalis’
By its very ubiquity, the poor old Japanese quince is often overlooked, but I have always rated them highly and not least, of course, because any shrub flowering in February is to be welcomed.
This deciduous and woody shrub is very accommodating and adaptable, it’s also extremely hardy and is tolerant of almost any aspect or soil. I have seen it looking good grown as a free standing specimen in sun or dappled shade, and it looks particularly effective when grown against a wall – unless (and I quote from *Ballyroberts Gardens website) the wall is white!
The single, white-as-driven-snow flowers are cup shaped and borne on bare stems. The branches are spiny but not in an intrusive way, and a light prune after flowering will keep it in shape, or in check if space is at a premium. Unchecked it will easily attain two metres in height and width.
I can’t fault it really: some may say it looks boring for the rest of the year which is true, so you could always grow a late flowering clematis through it, but just keep a look out, as a very vigorous clematis sometimes knows no bounds and might swamp and overwhelm the host plant. I’ve learned this to my cost as last year an over zealous Clematis viticella almost killed its host (a rose).
* https://www.ballyrobertgardens.com/ – and there is a lot to make you smile here!
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