FIrst styling on a Quince

[jezz_39]

Hi all,
Thought i would post this Chinese Quince (Pseudocydonia Sinensis) Ive been working on this season. Gave it a rough styling yesterday, just wanted to open a thread to track its progress over the coming seasons.
This tree was an ebay purchase, and my first step towards nicer, semi-advanced deciduous stock. Happy to report its liking my climate on the Sunshine Coast, hopefully it adjusts to the milder winter climate and can get a rest over winter

So far Ive had a bit of trouble trying to encourage ramification, Ive been letting shoots grow anywhere from 4-12 leaves, then cutting back to the second leaf. This has only resulted in the tips shooting, with the occasional back budding here and there. Any secrets I should know? Or is it a matter of persevering, then cutting back hard in winter and repeating the process over several seasons?

As usual my photos don't do a lot of justice, I will get a decent set up this year as things are getting more serious. More photos in winter will probably make more sense, but this is where we're at right now.

[shibui]

I grow a few of these Jeremy and I also find they are very slow to ramify. You will probably find that new shoots will grow downward just as strongly as upward ones which is a little unusual. The only suggestion I can offer is to persist - It will develop slowly at its own pace.
It appears to be a nice looking trunk.

[Jow]

I find if I feed mine heavily, then cut back to two buds and defoliate I get good back budding and most buds then open. Mine has a long way to go but it is slowly getting there. Good luck.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1389481975.818552.jpg

[jezz_39]

Thanks for the advice, fellas
Shibui, the trunk is what attracted me and is essentially all I had at the beginning of the season. The tree was bare-rooted and spent 3-4 days in the post, potted up and buds were opening 3 days later. The trunk on the right seems too high to be a triple trunk but it seems to work. The grower definitely put the time into the nebari.

Jow, I will try this approach next season, thankyou. How many times would you defoliate a season?

[Jow]

I would defoliate, cut back and wire perhaps twice a growing season if the tree was growing strongly. All depends on the growth you are able to get. Stronger the growth the harder you can push the tree.