Pruning japonica
By Useless
Hampshire,
United Kingdom 
I have an old japonica shrub. It is shreading apple like fruit. It is overgrown. Can I prune it back this year?
20 Oct, 2009
Answers
You can make a sort of quince jelly from the fruit, good with roast pork.
20 Oct, 2009
Is it Volunteer, I never heard of that - is it better than apple sauce?
20 Oct, 2009
It has a lighter flavour, just substitute real quinces for Chaenomeles fruit in the recipe.
20 Oct, 2009
The fruit its shedding are actually Quince - pruning back best left now till the spring, after it has flowered. You will probably lose the fruits, but it doesn't sound like you'll be worried about that! By the way, your shrub is probably Chaenomales japonica, or possibly Cydonia, if it has thorns.
20 Oct, 2009