Growth In Your Area

This could very well be the earliest Spring I've seen around these parts in I don't know how long. The Lilacs are swelling showing green, the bulbs have been up for at least two weeks if not longer, the grass is greening up, and today at a rental home of my sister and her husband I noticed her two variegated Maples had as much green on the buds as the Lilacs.

Technically, I'm zone 5a but 5b would be more appropriate. I'm a stones throw from the Mississippi River and of course Iowa. This is the type of weather that can wither up the buds on my Japanese Maples, etc. We'll see how it goes, hopefully I won't experience any damage.

How about you guys?

Dax

Me too, I'm tempted to change my zone. All kinds of buds on my potted plants.
Which is good news for me because all my 3 hundred or so plants is all in pots.
Actually, when I put my location's zip code in any zone map finder it says 6, but I'm staying with 5b. I think its supposed to be the "urban heat island effect", but I'm 20 miles from Kansas City and it gets colder than you-know-what here! I fear this unusual warm streak will end some year, hopefully I'll have my own place and can plant stuff in the ground before then!

Good to see you here from GW, Dax.

Will

Here is a Saucer Magnolia of mine that I photographed five days ago.

Dax, I agree, this is definitely the earliest spring, if not the most unusual! Even though we're in Zone 6a, it's a COLD 6a...we're in a pocket where the cooler weather from the Ohio Valley comes roaring through... and we have so many things blooming right now it's scary with overnight lows of below freezing for at least the next week! Our Forsythia has been blooming for two weeks, usually not seen until the end of March or first of April. Our Prunus sub. 'Autumnalis Rosea' which always blooms the first week in April went from swelled buds to fully opened overnight 10 days ago - another one that usually doesn't bloom until the first of April, and probably won't last long this year. Even our Prunus cerasifera 'Thundercloud' has blooms - unheard of this early! Our Magnolia stellata is always an early bloomer, however we have 'Leonard Messel' and Saucer Magnolia blooming at the same time - always 2-3 weeks later - and even our 'Butterflies' will probably be blooming this weekend - never seen this one bloom until the 3rd week in April!! Our Daphne odoro 'Aureo-marginata' which had been in bud for about 3 weeks is just starting to bloom as well. So strange to have all of these blooming together!

Debbie

Hi guys,

I swear global warming has really shifted weather, even for the Midwest which is 'shifty' to begin with. Over the past five years since I returned here from Oregon, I've had a Rhododendron ('Roseum Elegans') bloom as early as April and as late as June. It's been that erratic.

Same with my Dawn Redwood. I swear it was like July one year before it leafed out. Just overall, really strange if that's the right word.

I've been telling people for about two years now that they should buy up all the property 'way up here' because sometime it's going to look like California!

Debbie... May the weather be on your side! I actually tested a Daphne odora here and it made it through two winters. It wasn't the lovliest of specimens, but I enjoyed having it around as long as it would withstand.

Will, thanks for the nice words even though I don't see much happening there on your photo! j/k!!!

Thanks for the 'reports' folks,

Dax

A stone throw from the river, Dax? If it gets to be like California here, you'll be underwater. Better move to higher ground, LOL.

It's the same way down here on the gulf coast in zone8b. All of my oaks and maples are leafing out. My pear trees leafed out two weeks ago. Azaleas are in full bloom. Even my grass is starting to green up. I'm afraid we may be in for an usually hot summer.

No signs of spring here - so far, March has been colder than either January or February, and the forecast is for it to stay cold for at least the next week :-((

Resin

As an optimist I find that the early start is wonderful and I expect the garden to thrive in this global warming!
Dax what are you doing growing Dawn Redwood along the Mississippi? All those seeds will travel down the river and take over the mississippi delta. Solidifying the delta and making New Orleans a high piece of ground and we will have nothing to spend our national tax dollars on. Are you mad!

My God, Steve. you are an optimist! I say we seed the flathead valley to barrel cactus, run a stalkchopper every couple of years, Shazam!, instant compost with water supply and in ten years a new rain forest. You be plantin bananas:>) Ken

I suspect that in 10 years we will be a forest of cedars. Bananas are over 20years away. Then we will get back our dinosaures that we lost 75 million years ago. Oh Boy! Can't wait to see the life expextancy of a T Rex with SAM's, and RPG's. Hee Hee

Leftwood, The only thing missing here as far as I'm concerned is mountains. We do have a good couple three "Bunny Hill" Ski Areas and one just a few miles away, that should count for something, shouldn't it?! I can remember the 'flood of 92' we had here, what a mess that was. Looks like the Mountains better pop up!

I've been in touch with a friend on the East Coast and he too like Resin has had cold weather for quite some time and it's still continuing to be un-springlike there. He's zone 7 something I believe.

Just wild weather all over the world I guess. Some drastic in nature, some simply strange as in the case here for example, other places???... That's why I posted this to see what you others were experiencing.

It's warm in the greenhouse anyway, I know that, and the grafted conifers are doing excellent! ....As are the grafted Maples. The cuttings, that's another story I'm not going to endulge myself in at the moment... Not the best of luck there I'm reluctant to say.

I can at least say I'm looking forward to an early spring. Winter has shaken itself free here.

Happy gardening to you'all!

Best,

Dax

Don't be talking about T-Rex now in conjunction with Sam's Club... RPG's...you lost me there.

I hear ya though Soferdig. How's the Montana Spring going?

T Rex = tyrannasaurus Rex
RPG = rocket propelled Grenade
Sam = surface to air missle.
Though maybe the T REx has grown too. Eeeee Gaddds Godzilla.

Soferdig,

So you're one of those guys hiding in the woods with weapons of mass destruction. I once had a friend doing the census in the Mountains in and around Peshastin, WA. He used to get shot at all the time!

That exactly where I want to live!

Or, here in the boonies I guess and you can bet that I'll get me a gun!

Later,

Dax

You wouldn't believe who is "up in the mountains" here in Montana. There are the nationally televised types, Freeman, Letter Bomber, etc but there are true mountain familys whose tree only has one lateral. My wife deals with the inbred community all the time. I have to say I like the mind set of the group. One valley here (unnamed) has a school bus parked next to the narrow entrance to block it if national collapse occurs. These people have storage units full of guns, ammo, and dehydrated food. The top of the ravine has a howitzer to discourage any attempt to enter the valley when closed. There are rather solid defences in different withdrawl areas as you drive in. I once went in to buy a rototiller from a family living up there. I was stopped by 2 of his neighbors asking why I was there. Then after arriving there were several strange contraptions to survive the holocost imminent in their minds. The only problem was they had a 6" well over 125' deep and they had a hand pump to back up the electrical pump if it should fail.......

Sounds like they knew what they were doing with the well...

Yep, he used to hope his car would never break down...

You have a good life up there Soferdig!

I too would fit right in and fit in very well with the locals! I'm about as much of a "Yahoo!" as "Yahoo's" get!!!

Lata punk!

Dax

P.s. I remember you were going to have some Ponderosa Pines... I'll D-mail ya sometime about those.

I joined Daves just last fall so I did not know anyone would want them. Now I';m collecting seeds and will use them to start seedlings to trade. I will also have Aronia, Service berry (Amlelancher), Douglas fir, and a million divided perenials.

Yep Sofer, collecting is a lot of fun.

We all have our shared interest of sorts here and I like lots of different garden schemes even though I removed 90 percent of my perennials except the Clematis which I have I think at last count, something like 45-55. Love em...

You outta get a serious collection of Azaleas going there in Montana. If you like them that is. Blueberries...... A few of my other favorites and great-looking shrubs to boot for lots of reasons!

TTUL,

Dax

Dax Azaleas do not do well here. They hate the dry Aug/Sept even with irrigation. I have tried 3 different species in my acid soil bed PH 5.8 and none have prospered so I moved them out and put in Spirea. I love the spirea here in montucky. Blue berries are being sold but I am still at work on my below 5000 Ft Huckelberry bush. They need a group of plants to survive so I'm starting a whole area in my woodland below the house to minic this.

Here some pics I took in my yard today. You can see the trees already leafing out.

#2

What species of huckleberry, Dig? Baccata? That's what we have.

Spiderworts are blooming everywhere.

Nice Azaleas escambiaguy...

I don't know yet the name. I have read that they need a combination of plants to survive so I have 2 areas in my lower woodland that I am 1st growing the surrounding species and in a couple of years I will begin my search for the lowest elevation species. And yes I have soil ammended for very acidic soil. PH 5.5. Raised bed of course. I have not until you guys at DG worried about names and only ideas. There are few gardeners in my area who like to get together so never had to know names of plants. It is kind of a dream of all Montanans is to have their own Huckelberries. They are awesome here.

Whatever makes you happy, that's what I say you should plant. I happen to here like conifers, Azaleas and Rhododendrons, Asian Maples, American and European Maples (Or wherever the origin of Acer rubrum and others etc,) Clematis, a decent lawn.....throw in some annuals, perennials and a few other deciduous shrubs and that's my garden!

Just a corner city lot, but reasonable size to plant quite a lot of space. I also have a few nice Beech that someday like the rest of my stuff that I started planting in 2001, will be outstanding and well-spaced specimens or simply put a garden.

I can't honestly say I know much about huckleberries, other than hearing about "huckleberry jam" from time to time. I now see they're related to blueberries...

Take care Sofa,

Dax

We always had blueberries in Michigan where I grew up and they were good but nothing like the small sweet huckleberry we have here in Montucky. the only problem with picking them is you have to go up to the high elevations and compete with grizzlies to get them. I actually collect them similar to what the grizzley does. I use a small cultivator from the garden and a large bowl underneath.

Hi Soferdig,

How do you collect them? I don't understand.

Thanks,

Dax

I place the bowl under the branching that is full of berries and rake up the branch to dislodge the ripe ones. They fall into the bowl and you don't have to pick each one. The bears do the same thing with the bowl being their tongue and the cultivator their claws. PS wild bears do s... in the woods about 15 times a day eating berries.

This message was edited Mar 19, 2006 7:14 PM

Thanks, how simple. Talk about a dummy here.

Thanks again,

Dax

So Dax do you know what plant groupings do to communicate their presence to affect a particular species? Is it a gas (ethane) or what. Or do the roots release something? I know that soil is also important but why do plants need an enviroment. Trilliums, Morale Mushroom, etc all have a similar pattern.

Hi Soferdig,

I think it's all due to evolution or by the hand of man. Some plants require as a broad-spectrum word, "environment(s)" - to be happy.

A great 'read' you'd thoroughly enjoy which I've forgotten the name to at the moment is about how Whitebark Pine Forests are established via the Clark's Nutcracker. I apolgize for not giving you the title, I just can't remember this morning for some strange reason. While that's most of the book, also it discusses other bird species and their roles in Asian Coniferous Forests.

Anyway, it's a great, great book.

Someone will know,

Dax

Here it is, I found it:

"Made For Each Other" - A symbiosis of Birds and Pines (Lanner, Ronald - 1996 Oxford University Press)

http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/LifeSciences/~~/c2Y9YWxsJnNzPWF1dGhvci5hc2Mmc2Q9YXNjJnBmPTgwJnZpZXc9dXNhJnByPTEwJmJvb2tDb3ZlcnM9eWVzJmNpPTAxOTUwODkwMzA=

Dax

thanks Dax that will keep my brain cooking and create a whole number of other questions. Oh Boy oh boy. I love learning. What is the gas emmitted by apples?

Soferdig, how do you think the bears eat blackberries? They don't fall off so easily. I've got lots of berries, which usually make my right arm look like I've got some horrific disease during harvest time. I don't wear a long sleeved shirt - it only makes the prickers stick more and I spend too much time untangling them. I'd rather suffer and get more berries faster. We've also got bear - 400 or so counted by the tribe in the 12 square miles of this reservation. They certainly eat berries and leave the piles to prove it.

Hmmm...I used to know what that gas was. Can't seem to look it up in my brain at the moment.

Ethylene....

Davers you are the answer man today. Thank you.

Talking of gas . . .

The gas emitted by humans is CO2 . . . on the news the other day, currently 381ppm in the atmosphere, compared to 190ppm in 1975.

No wonder the weather's all going haywire.

Resin

Well, I'm convinced. I'm not going to emit any more CO2 starting now. I'm going emit ethylene like apples do.

Scott

I'm gonna cut down on my methane too. Wow the world is getting better just because we share this site. LOL