Flowering quince (Chaenomeles Japonica) styling advice

This is my new flowering quince, I'm really excited about styling this tree but I know there's a long way ahead...
So, any advice? Any ideas about initial styling/guidance for this tree?
Thanks

droppy wrote:but I know there's a long way ahead...

You got that right.
It looks like from the pics that there are 3 trees in that pot.
I personally would not waste my time on this material. It might be good to test things like fertilizer, insecticide, and etc, but otherwise, it is not good stock. Having an eye for good material is very important in bonsai. This tree will take to long to make a good bonsai out of it.

I mean no offense but this isn't good material. That being said, I own shimpaku cuttings and satsuki whips, which you can see on my website. But I fully understand the time they will take to grow. Save your self time, money, and patience. Buy stock with thicker trunks.

Since you ask I will tell you what to do. If you keep this than next spring separate these, if you can, when you bare root and put whatever you get out of into into growing pots. Grow for 15 years to thicken the trunks. Wire curve into these branches but do not style during this growth period.
Or ............. next spring separate these, if you can, when you bare root and put whatever you get out of into into the ground.

I think you should style this as a clump. Quinces sucker big time, so that shouldn't be a problem.

shimsuki wrote:

droppy wrote:but I know there's a long way ahead...

You got that right.
It looks like from the pics that there are 3 trees in that pot.
I personally would not waste my time on this material. It might be good to test things like fertilizer, insecticide, and etc, but otherwise, it is not good stock. Having an eye for good material is very important in bonsai. This tree will take to long to make a good bonsai out of it.

I mean no offense but this isn't good material. That being said, I own shimpaku cuttings and satsuki whips, which you can see on my website. But I fully understand the time they will take to grow. Save your self time, money, and patience. Buy stock with thicker trunks.

Since you ask I will tell you what to do. If you keep this than next spring separate these, if you can, when you bare root and put whatever you get out of into into growing pots. Grow for 15 years to thicken the trunks. Wire curve into these branches but do not style during this growth period.
Or ............. next spring separate these, if you can, when you bare root and put whatever you get out of into into the ground.

Thank you very much for being objective and honest!
I guess I rushed into buying this but I really wanted a quince and they're hard to find here, especially old ones Anyway, I do not plan to give up on it, so I'll take your advice and let it grow as much as possible. That's why I asked the question in the first place, because I'm aware of the fact that not much can be done right away. But... planning ahead is a good thing to do, right?

I don't think this material is beyond styling. First of all, you need to check the root and see how many trees are in there. Seperate them is necessary based on the size and shape. Then you can wait 2 or 3 years and see how each tree develop, then you can think about styling. Bonsai is not just about style, health is more important in my opinion.

I think the "guest" is being a bit to pessimistic about flowering quince. Yes, it's difficult, yes it takes a long time, but all good things come in time. I challenge anyone to go out and find a quince with a trunk on it without paying big bucks for it. In fact, I challenge anyone to just find one!!!! Don't dispair, just take your time, select a single trunk then keep all of the root suckers off of it and over time develop your design. It might take a decade or two to make a nice tree but it will do it. Here's one that I've been working on for 10 years and it's finally starting to look like something.

The original poster put this on two years ago. It would be interesting to see what it looks like now.

Hi,I styled quite a few quince about 7 years ago and used one or two "trunks" to create an Ikebana style.The slender trunks I shaped without wiring,only pruning,taking into consideration the negative space through the design.The large,or long growth stand well on their own,however smaller mame sized quince look very impressive as accent plants.Hope this helps.

The biggest problem on Quince is that they don't trunk fatten very well - partly because of their genetics and also the suckering tends to reduce fattening too. Ground growing does not seem to have a massively beneficial effect either like the vast majority of other trees / shrubs. Here's some good Quince info / advice from Owen Reich - one of the guys who made the YouTube series 'Bonsai art of Japan':

I suppose I should clarify which quince with you; Karin, or Pseudocydonia sinensis does not need defoliation to ramify. However, cutting off large leaves in the silhouette and cutting leaves in half that are not big but directy over other important areas with shoots belowdoes help buds to pop on the interior of the tree.. Chochubai and Boke (different types of Chaenomeles japonica) aka flowering quince do respond well to defoliation. Do this in mid-spring after the strong new flush occurs sending out long shoots. Defoliate the whole tree and take this opportunity to wire anything necessary. The long new shoots should be shortened almost to their base if in a good location or removed completely if too vigorous for that area of the tree. When wiring, it is best to wire shoots before cutting back branches. It helps distribute the tension while bending; then just use wire cutters to prune to exactly where you want the branches to split; generally an inch or so inside the planned silhouette. Suckers from the base should be removed as soon as they are spotted year-round.

Thanks,
Owen Reich

I don't want to hijack your thread but I have a Quince too. I will post it if you are OK with that.