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Key characteristics

Family: Rosaceae
Height: 6 to 10 feet
Width: 6 to 10 feet
Flower color: Soft pink five petaled flowers with darker centers and golden yellow stamens
Foliage color: Glossy medium green oval leaves on distinctive twisted and contorted branches
Bloom time: Late winter to early spring
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Water: Average
Maintenance: Low; prune after flowering to shape plants and remove older stems
Growing zone: USDA zones 5 to 9
Wildlife: Bees and other early season pollinating insects

Shrubs

Chaenomeles speciosa 'Contorta'

Contorted Flowering Quince

Chaenomeles speciosa 'Contorta' produces clusters of soft pink flowers in early to mid spring, each bloom opening with rounded petals and golden stamens along the twisted branches. The blossoms appear along the tangled stems before or as the foliage emerges, bringing early seasonal color. Small, glossy green leaves unfold along the contorted branches in spring, filling the twisting framework with fresh foliage through the growing season.

Light

Full sun to partial shade

Water

Average

Bloom time

Late winter to early spring

Find this plant

Works well in

Sun Gardens
Foundation Plantings
Informal Hedges
Pollinator Gardens

Companion plants

Abelias · Tufted hair grass · Stonecrop · Coneflower · Agastache · Blazing star

Design tip

Twisted branches give this quince character even before its soft pink flowers open, so avoid hiding its unusual framework behind denser shrubs. A position near a path or entry lets the sculptural branching become part of the garden experience and rewards closer viewing in early spring.