The Last Frost, etc. and Your Perennials

[thistlebloom]

Snow? That's just wrong. We aren't late, the spring is just slow, and we had a real winter this year instead of the milder ones we've had the last couple.

We went for a drive Sunday, down the two laners around Lake Coeur d' Alene. We had sunshine, a little rain, and a bit of snow. That's what I like about spring. The weather may be threatening, but it's just a toddler pout and changes quickly to something else.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Wow you had to use a heat lamp on your rabbits. We had the mildest winter anyone can remember

I don't remember the temperature, but it just went on and on and on, and one is thin and has been sick, so I decided to put a light on. We had started to have some below 0 temperatures and teens.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

My garlic is coming up good. Barely any sun today, clouds and rain. More on the way. I don't know.

 

[Smart Red]

Unless the weather has been really unseasonally warm for a while, perennials will do just fine through late frosts. Might get nipped, but overall will do just fine.

 

[digitS']

Does it make sense to bring this thread back every 3 years? I think so , trying to keep some ideas in mind for those of us still waiting to put something in the outdoor garden.

Here is a map for how Spring is advancing north in 2023, through the US.


First leaves on the top map, first blooms on the bottom. Darker orange/brown is for earlier relative to average. Blues are for later.

The link to Growing Degree Days re perennials blooming in one post opens to a dead page since the Weather Service stopped providing that information in Nov 2019. Anyway, I can't find it. If you do a Google search, you will find that Syngenta has an up to date accounting for specific places in the US and, maybe, worldwide.

Steve
ETA: the LINK to the map. It's a GIF and you can watch it change through this year.

 

[ducks4you]

Ya know, I remember LOTS of "early" Springs where we have had a surprise freeze JUST WHEN the peach blossoms were out!
Story isn't finished yet, but, typically, government is painting pictures to justify themselves.
BAHHHH!!!!!

 

[digitS']

My understanding is that Black Locust trees are in every US state and Canadian province. Additionally, they are in many European countries. Quite an accomplishment for a tree native to southern Appalachia. Valued by farmers for their quick growth and usefulness as fence posts and easily propagated by seeds – the densest local stand of locust was in the earliest European American settlement nearby at what was called Spokane Bridge. If you see the trees as a non-native invasive, you can thank those farmers and their need to build fences .

I'm not sure if it is in the same widespread category but what we call Oregon Grape is a native here and common in both native woodlands and home plantings. Mahonia has some native status across the northern part of the US, according to the Department of Agriculture.

These are two of my plant guides for deciding garden schedules.

When the Oregon Grape blooms, I should have the seed potatoes and peas in the ground. Over the years watching the Black Locust bloom, only once has a hard frost occurred after the tree has opened its flowers. I don't mean just a few flowers on lower branches but on up the trees.

Realize that these plants are responding to past weather. At least here, they seem well adapted in their life cycles. So, for me personally, they provide guidance.

Steve

 

[Branching Out]

Thank you for reinvigorating this thread Steve. It makes a lot of sense for us to pay close attention to which plants are coming out of dormancy in our area, and to take a moment to document our observations in our garden notebooks. That's about the only way you can make a relevant comparison of the arrival of spring weather from one year to the next.

The last few days I have been noticing patches of dill starting to come up from seed that dropped last fall. Then yesterday I sowed carrots in the ground, so I am thinking that when the volunteer dill germinates it could be a good time to plant carrots. Calendula and nasturtium volunteers are popping up this week too; for our area they could also be considered harbingers of warming soil come spring.

One of the other threads recently had some chatter about soil temperature. Taking readings every couple of weeks in conjunction with monitoring fresh spring growth, and then adding that data to our gardening notes would likely be very helpful too. I think I will have to put temperature taking on my list of things to do today-- it is not something that I have done before, but it could be very interesting.

 

[digitS']

I have done the thermometer in the soil check and looked at Bureau of Land Management for their readings and Ag Extension Service lists of germination temperatures. Helpful!

One problem I have had was the different locations of my gardens and the need to travel to arrive there with the seeds and be prepared to plant them, or not . Here at home, I have some Wintertime shady areas where the soil thaws and warms at different rates than other areas. (This year, it looks like I may be doubling the areas more open to year-around sun. Good bye unneeded lawngrass )

The trees and especially those Oregon Grape bushes are conveniently located wherever I go .

Steve
2 years ago, the nextdoor neighbor planted ... let's see - 1, 2, 3 ... 8!, Oregon Grapes in her Winter shaded area. they are a little better established and may give some guidance. at the distant garden, i have yearly passed a full-sun hedge of Oregon Grape a stone's throw from the garden. i can see a Black Locust from my living room window! @Branching Out , i will look for the dill seedling .

 

[Alasgun]

We would loose some precious time if we just wing it or rely on “the sayings” for when to plant. All i could figure is them poor folk couldn't afford a more reliable method!

https://www.amazon.com/Weber-6750-Instant-Read-Thermometer/dp/B01MCWS5C9/ref=asc_df_B01MCWS5C9?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80814222102151&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584413749862336&psc=1

Case in point; yesterday i checked the salad bar temp and found it at 39f. Knowing that lettuce will germinate at 40f, i weeded and troweled a section and plopped down some seeds And will continue to do so for a couple weeks; recording the temp that they actually do germinate. All this activity took place with over 2 feet of snow all around me! The salad bar being roughly 44 inches tall is above all the snow and may prove productive LONG before i can plant anywhere else.

Most folks have a suitable thermometer, give it a try and you wont look back! Ive used my “weber” for 4-5 years now and never changed the battery. Anything that’s planted here has the soil temp recorded at planting time and my notes show “soil temp” to be pretty predictable from year to year. This is the hardest/longest most snow winter i’ve seen in over 30 years at this location and yet im pretty sure i’ll still be on time when it comes to planting the outside beds!

In the greenhouse the soil is 53f and i’m populating it all this week. Here’s what it looks like outside the greenhouse!