Re: Re: Spring Bloom ahead of schedule

Dave  --  I'm sorry the hail hit your yard.  It's hard, I think, for people
who haven't experienced it to imagine what a hail storm can do to an iris
garden.  Last year, my main seedling garden, which is 4 miles from my house,
was zapped by a hail storm at peak bloom.  Since there had been no hail at
my house, I at first couldn't understand what had happened.  There were
pencil-eraser-size pock marks on all the stalks.  Only when I noticed that
the pock marks were only on one side -- the same side  -- of all the stalks
did I realize that it had been hail.  Glad your TBs seem to have
scaped.  --  Griff


----- Original Message -----
From: <DFerguson@cabq.gov>
To: <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 1:14 PM
Subject: Re: [iris] Re: Spring Bloom ahead of schedule


> Hi all,
>
> I'm not sure what normal is here, since I've had SDB's flower any time
from
> mid January to mid April, depending on the season, but based on what seems
> to be "normal", I'd say that here is central NM the early plants are
mostly
> quite late.  However, the TB's and other things that normally start in
late
> April are coming on strong and will probably catch up.  I'm starting to
see
> some buds on the first TB's.  It's early to tell, but we are probably
going
> to have a protracted season, with lots of things blooming all together at
> the same time.
>
> There are still some Daffodils, and the Flowering Quince and Forsythia are
> still loaded with flowers.  These are usually plants of late February to
> mid March, so they have run about a month late this year, along with lots
> of other things.
>
> I have SDB's, I. pumila, I. reichenbachii, and other dwarves blooming now,
> just coming on strong, yet they often start in February.  'Lesser
> Goldfinch' is in heavy bloom now, and the first flower came out I think
> March 27, a day after Lowell Baumunk's first one up in Denver (he should
be
> a month behind me on most things).  The IB's are typically in full flower
> now, and the first ones are just starting in now.  Winter got a late
start,
> but it was a cold one, with several single digit to subzero (depending on
> location) nights, cooler than average days, and with January and February
> particularly cold.  We got rain in late Feb. - early March, a couple of
> weeks of warm weather in March, and then this cold wet system has us in
its
> grip now (might push 70F today though).  Tulips, Lilacs, and Crab Apples
> are blooming now, with the Lilacs and Tulips just starting (again - late).
> Most of the trees are just barely pushing leaves, when they are often in
> full leaf now.  However, as things progress, the lateness becomes less and
> less obvious, and if things warm up again, we might "catch up" on things
> that typically flower in April and May.
>
> It's interesting that there doesn't seem to be more than two or three
weeks
> difference this year from Denver to El Paso in a lot of plants' spring
> progress, perhaps a month for some things; usually it is a bit over two
> months.
>
> What I have blooming is all at the Botanic Garden in Albuquerque this
year,
> or I'm looking at other people's yards.  My yard was trashed by hail last
> weekend, and it'll be interesting to see what the result is.  Most of the
> IB stalks broke off, and most of the SDB's that hadn't opened already now
> have deformed pulverized buds; however, there may not have been much
affect
> on most of the later Iris.  Leaves are shredded, but the buds are still
> mostly way down in the fans or barely even forming.
>
> Of course things like Iris, early roses, fruit, locust flowers, etc. are
> all gone for this year (well, not gone, just mashed into the dirt under
all
> the broken twigs).  The Pine trees lost all their half grown candles, and
> so on.  It wiped out most of the little tiny flower buds on my cacti too
> (they make more?).
>
> And it was shaping up to be the best spring in many (still will be for
> those the hail missed around here).
>
> Dave
>
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