Things You'll Need

Instructions

1

Put on a pair of thick fabric or leather gloves before handling the branches of a Japanese quince. Thorns line the branches and the dense matrix of branches often tangles. Consider wearing long sleeves, too, to prevent punctures or scrapes on your forearms.
2

Cut back flowering branches with hand pruners in late spring after the blooming season ends. Reduce the branch tips that recently flowered by 4 to 10 inches, making the pruning cut 1/4 inch above a lower leaf, branch junction or dormant bud.
3

Remove one-fifth to one-third of the oldest branches on older, established Japanese quince shrubs. Prune these branches back to their bases, leaving 3- to 5-inch stubs. Cut out these branches evenly across the entire shrub. New growth occurs during summer and rejuvenates the shrub.
4

Cut back another one-fifth to one-third of the oldest remaining branches the next year, to continually grow new branches that will produce more flowers the following spring.