Quince Pruning

[Scooter_M]

Hey guys,

I cant seem to find much about pruning a quince, and the information i have found is not very clear about when to hard prune. I need to cut back my quince really hard, found some conflicting information about waiting to the flowers bud, and some say just anytime really becuase they are quite hardy. Im talking like half the tree needs to be cut off, its been neglected and become really leggy.

Anyone got any advice on when?

Cheers.

[treeman]

The best time is in winter but you could get away with it now. Just be sure to seal all cuts!

[Gerard]

The best time is in winter but you could get away with it now. Just be sure to seal all cuts!

But .................it is winter

Are we talking about chaenomoles (Japenese quince)(japonica)
or
pseudocydonia sinensis (Chinese quince)

I am reluctant to cut back chaenomoles just as they are starting to flower which is winter. I suspect it will not hurt to prune in winter and perhaps would encourage a later flush of flowers.
Do these flower on 1 year old wood?

[treeman]

The best time is in winter but you could get away with it now. Just be sure to seal all cuts!

But .................it is winter

Are we talking about chaenomoles (Japenese quince)(japonica)
or
pseudocydonia sinensis (Chinese quince)

I am reluctant to cut back chaenomoles just as they are starting to flower which is winter. I suspect it will not hurt to prune in winter and perhaps would encourage a later flush of flowers.
Do these flower on 1 year old wood?

Winter finished yesterday here. Everything is moving! (almost)
What I meant was cut when when dormant if possible. If you are heavy pruning you should not worry about flowers anyway.
Just tidying up is done in autumn usually. I have seen flowers on 1,2,3,4,5 year old wood!