Mysterious early bloomer likely a flowering quince

Q: We moved into our new home last year just after New Year’s. In the backyard, in a nicely sheltered southwest corner, there are two established shrubs. The shorter of the two is what I believe to be a winter jasmine. You’d described them in an article you wrote last year, and when they bloomed, very early for most things, the description matched pretty darn well. Thanks for that! 

Now the taller multi-trunk shrub, standing about 5 feet tall, is already in bloom. It has the prettiest pale orange-coral pinkish blooms. They are five-petaled, and if I think about it, they resemble apple blossoms. You know, sort of flat-faced with the center having a bright yellow pollen thing. Any idea as to what this shrub might be? Thanks for helping us settle in. — L.B., Bernalillo

A: I just love the description of the flowers that are gracing your shrub. 

Flat-faced and five-petaled sounds sort of like a wild rose. It should because the shrub that I believe you have is a flowering quince. Since this plant is in the Rosaceae family, just like apples, it’s a great way to describe the blooms. 

Now don’t get this creature confused with a fruiting quince. It won’t ever produce fruit for you. What I like about the flowering quince is its hardiness. The "Western Garden Book" describes them as practically indestructible, so you have a keeper there. 

Unless yours has a grower's tag attached to it — usually they are strung near the bottom of the plant itself — you might never know the exact variety you have and there are plenty. The "Western Garden Book" lists over 20 varieties, and perhaps there are more. Yours, offering the orange-coral-pinkish color could be Coral Sea or Cameo, but I doubt you’ll ever know. 

Flowering quince are very easy to grow. They don’t require more than "average" water, and I’ve learned they can suffer from chlorosis when grown in alkaline soil. That’s an easy fix by offering iron chelate or iron sulfate as a multivitamin, and all should be well. I don’t know if you’ve done any pruning on this guy, but be cautious because most varieties do have thorns. 

The flowering quince is sort of a horse of a different color too. In the dead of winter, the branches and stems wear a reddish-grey color on the bark. Then — poof — here come the lovely blooms early in the growing season. Next, you get the leaves that wear a hint of red until they color up for the season and stay a good green. The flowering quince is a lovely landscaping plant for sure, and from your description of the flat-faced, five-petaled bloom, I’m confident that’s what you have growing along with the winter jasmine. Enjoy these early bird bloomers!

Q: I am so upset! Most of the daffodil bulbs I planted last October are pushing themselves out of the soil. It’s weird! There isn’t much green plant showing yet, but mostly all the bulbs are poking up out of the soil. What is going on? Will I still get daffodil blooms from these bulbs? — J.C., Albuquerque

A: Your daffodil bulbs are suffering from a malady called heaving and it’s not good. It’s usually caused either by the bulbs not being planted deep enough initially or not being kept damp enough through the dormant season and trying to search out water. 

Either way, you can fix this, but both methods will be fairly labor intensive. 

The first way is to replant all the bulbs. Using a hand trowel, dig up each bulb, deepen the hole so that just the very tip of the bulb will be showing once you replant it, and firmly scooch the soil back around the bulbs. 

I mean, just have the barest tippy top of the bulb showing and be gentle, don’t cram the bulbs back in the deepened hole. There should be root mass, so show it a bit of respect and get it all politely underground. Once you’ve dug and replanted everybody, give the area a nice gentle soaking of water and never allow it to dry out again. 

Solution two would be to add enough soil to cover the whole bed to bury the bulbs. This method could change the aspect of anything else you have planted, so that way might not be wise. Those are your choices — adding lots more soil to the bed to bury the bulbs completely or taking the time to really get each bulb planted deeper. Whichever way you choose, do it soon. Very soon. 

Good luck while you’re Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Diggin’ In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.