i live on saint simons island (which is now a zone 9 up from a zone 8 with the recent changes in climate zones). i am dismayed to see my bare plum tree growing plums; my canna lillies not so recently cut down back up again; my camilias blooming early; the daffodils i planted in late fall coming up; iris blooming on new year's day and my neighbors azaleas starting to bloom. today i saw a hibiscus in full bloom while walking.
how will this "early spring" affect the real one, particularly if we have a frost? i would love to hear what this is likely to mean. dooley worth
affect of warm weather on georgia gardens
Seems like everything is 2-3 months ahead of schedule in 7B Conyers. The daffodils popped out last week, canna lilies are coming up, sedum Autumn Joy is pushing its rosettes up now, Henry's Garnet itea has buds forming (way early for these) but the thing I'm really worried about is our doublefile viburnum. It has leaf buds about to open and I'm afraid we will lose it when the warm weather breaks, which I think will surely happen. Forsythia and flowering quince is blooming in several neighbors yards.
Several years ago (I can't remember exactly, sometime in the early 90's I think) we had an extended warm spell in December/January. Our weeping willow put new leaves on by early Feb. and then we had a couple months of cold weather with freezes. We lost the willow tree that year. I remember spring was dull because most of the spring blooming plants were tricked into early budding/bloom and were killed back with the cold weather.
It is sad, but I think we are apt to lose a few things this year and won't be seeing many spring blooms when the calendar says it's spring.
oldtowngirl: i don't suppose we can protect what's up if we have a cold snap? is there any chance things that start to bud and die back might make a second attempt? or come back next year? i am having visions of having to replace whole areas of my large back yard that has taken several years to get going....dooley
Dooley, First I should say I'm no expert. There are other folks on this forum with lots of experience who often will share good advice. That said, I think the plants and shrubs that are just budding and then get knocked back by cold, plus are cold hardy for your zone, should make it OK. They will just be later coming out. Our hydrangeas in past years for example have put on buds and then got hit with cold snaps, but did OK. They bloomed, but just a little later than usual and sometimes didn't have as many blooms as they would otherwise. But we have never lost any of them to late cold snaps. It's the plants that have gotten way ahead of season putting on leaves/blooming too early that I worry about. Our viburnum after five years is finally at it's full height of about 8 ft. which is too large to cover effectively. If it were the old fashioned viburnums that my Grandmother had I wouldn't worry too much. But noooo... I just had to have the pretty hybrid :~). The forsythia and flowering quince to my experience that are in full bloom now will not bloom again this spring. They will put on leaves and be OK. I hope that all your plants (and my viburnum please) make it through. Hopefully in your area, you won't see the freezing temps and occasional ice storms which are the real killers here.
Any hard freeze might kill a plant or severely set it back after the sap has risen. Back in 83, it was in the 70's Dec 23rd and then single digits on Xmas Eve. All over Atlanta, crepe myrtles (including some huge ones) were killed back to the ground. One year later the same thing happened except it was mid Jan. I've also seen late frosts severely damage saucer magnolias where several feet of the last few years' growth is killed. Late frosts also affect most of the ornamental azaleas (blooms). You just have to learn to roll with the punches though. Most shrubs and perennials will come back out when it warms up again but may be set back. Best thing to do is cover small plants to get them through the coldest days and hope for the best. Trees and large shrubs will just have to cope. Tender perennials/bulbs/rhizomes can be mulched heavily until danger of frost passes (heavy, wet mulch may cause rot though). We had a bizarre snowfall early April one year (early 90's I think) that melted by the end of the day but the wet snow killed my old man cactus that had toughed it out all winter in the ground. Gardening is a crapshoot - you win some, you lose some.
this season has me concerned as well the only safe bet is to divert out attention to other projects and try to stall out our eagerness to get an early start on this years growth buy letting the weather fool us. hold fast to that seed packet!!!
I've been reading this on other forums too - people all over the country are getting creeped out by this weather. A woman in MD said her plum tree has already bloomed...
I have blooming narcissus and hyacinths up 4 or 5". I can only hope that when it comes, it won't hurt too much. I'd say the same as hcmcdole and cover what you can if the temps start plunging. And pray 'no ice storm'!!!
Be aware you are not alone in your concerns.
Sterling
sterhill: one of the things coming up is one of the day lillies you sent me! it is already budding. dooley
I have daffoldils that have come up so fast in the last couple of days it looks like the flower heads are ready to open. I'm going to try to get a few bales of pine straw tonight and cover them as well as I can. I hope that helps! Even last year the last two late frosts damaged the ones that were just opened or opening.
Virginia
Hi to all
I've only been on Dave's for about a month and I am increasingly finding it so useful. I've been gardening in Georgia for seven years so I'm still relatively new here. I'm worried about the weather! Flowering quince and forsythia are blooming in my yard, crocuses bloomed for the first time today, daffodils are not only popping up but their flower heads are showing, etc. And I still haven't pruned my scuppernong yet - I usually have 'til late january for that chore.
Assuming winter returns with a vengeance, doe anyone know if the bulbs are permanently damaged? Or is it just that we may lose their blooms for a year?
Thanks!
kator,
Most hardy plants and bulbs may lose their blooms and some vigor for the following year but they should be fine. The ones you have to be concerned about are marginally hardy plants and young plants. A lot of beginners will rush out and buy all the pretty blooming plants in spring and set them out and then a hard freeze will kill them outright. Luckily this is January so most everyone hasn't rushed out with spring fever and planted summer annuals and young plants. Hang in there. A lot of advocates say if we would just plant natives then we wouldn't have any problems (I don't know about that advice) but then we would miss out on a lot of beauty.
Daffodils are blooming here on the Chickamauga Creek in NW Ga. We had weather in the teens back in November, and nothing colder than 26 since! The years we have had these warm winter months, we have snow in March and April (one year a blizzard, in '93.) Forsythia is in full bloom.
Yes, the blizzard of '93. Warm on Friday and then it started getting cold and windy that night. The blizzard dumped nearly 16" of snow Saturday, March 16 (or thereabouts) but most of it was melted by Monday. I75 was closed at Red Top Mountain and all the spring break college students (some in shorts, sandals, and tank tops) were put up around the city. My wife was a volunteer for Red Cross then and was called in to help out at the Cobb Civic Center. The students were amazed that it snowed. So was everyone else.
Then there was Snow Jam in '81 or '82 - that shut the city down for a few days. That was a big mess.
At least we haven't had any ice storms recently (knock on wood).
Flowering quince should be OK. It starts blooming around now and if the weather gets cold it just hunkers down and waits for the next warm spell to open a few more blooms. Narcissus may lose blooms but the bulbs will usually survive for next year.
The snow of 1993 was really amazing. We had around 18 inches in Birmingham. We had been camped out at EPIC, a magnet school, to enroll our son. I had to go home to stay with the children and Robert stayed at the school with a small group of other parents. I stayed up all night worrying about him and watching the storm. It was the first time I ever saw lightening with a snow storm.
I might add that I never want to see that much snow again.
Beth
I just found that I have iris buds showing color. If it stays mild for another week I will have purple dwarf iris in bloom.
Beth
Concerned in Augusta too...I have a small backyard fruit orchard with ten semi dwarfs and most are budding. Anyone know what to expect with apple and apricot and plum trees that get bud damage? Gosh as if all the fungus and bacteria and insect damage (not to mention our bird friends) were not enough to fight. I know I will be saying a few more prayers til April arrives. I feel bad complaining to God about the beautiful warm days that I for one confess to have enjoyed quite thoroughly. I have blooms on several perennials including dianthus. I have a few gaillardias that never died back and are still blooming from last spring!
The gardeners at the Masters Golf course must be placing ice on the azalea beds to hold them back. The rest of Augusta may look a little less like the "Garden City" come the golf tournament.
As Tiny Tim says May God bless us, everyone...or something like that,
Deb
All of my bulbs are coming up, I have a couple of iris in bloom, and my forsythia is in full bloom. The Japanese magnolias and redbuds are blooming and the azaleas are starting to spot-bloom. My cypress vine babies are already starting to come up, that's 2 months at least ahead of time!
I'm betting on a heck of a cold snap in March.....
Erin
Erin, please don't give the weather sprites any ideas. We had a cold snap in March that went down to 18 degrees here in Cordele only a few years ago. No repeats please!!!
Beth
a wild mink ran through my yard last week, the blue jays are so fat they look like painted pigeons, a half ripe plum and several unripe ones were taken off my leafless tree by the squirrels, one azalea has starting to bloom, the daffodils keep growing, my forsythia is blooming and i have had my first 2007 rose. it feels like a science fiction movie. how unseemly all this feels. i wonder if bird migration has been affected? dooley worth
What does a wild mink look like??? LOL!
~Sunny
hineni: a wild mink is beautiful dark brown with black in it, its small and has small ears but its quite long and built close to the ground. they run in a sort of hopping style. i had seen wild mink as a child in northern michigan but i couldn't believe it when i saw ione in my backyard (along with two friends) so i checked with a naturalist who knows saint simons island and he confirmed we have wild mink here. dooley
All I can do is water everything, and hope(water late, that is). Mike
Mud puddles haven't thawed in three weeks. Nights in the teens. The late daffodils are just starting to bud. They have better sense, evidently! Many trees breaking bud, perennials starting to peek out...it's just too cold and too early. Anyone have experience with a really cold tolerant lettuce? For the last 5 years I've picked lettuce all winter-not now! Or is anyone growing lettuce under row covers? It's really hurt my feelings that my greens, including my beloved mustards, are not growing. Most are alive but sitting still. And, one more question-I'd love to plant crimson clover for a cover in the parts of the garden I won't use until late May. Experience anyone? How much? Is it difficult to till in? I've used buckwheat successfully, but want to have the clover blooms for the bees. Susan
I've got a mixed Mesculun mix that I've been eating all winter but it was planted in November and when it gets below mid 20s I cover it with 4 mil plastic sheeting. Also, it's in a raised bed made of stone that holds the daytime heat really well. I also have Romaine and Iceberg seedlings that I planted in early January in raised beds. They are alive but have basically stopped growing with the cold the last few weeks.
I planted mammoth red clover on part of my (brand new) garden in November. It grew like a weed and is all over the place now. They got established and are a few inches tall but also stopped growing with the cold. I expect they will take off when it gets warm. I'm hoping they're not very hard to till in but I'll let you know in March :)