The Big Chill
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: The Big Chill
- From: B* S* <B*@hsc.edu>
- Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 07:30:36 -0700 (MST)
Well, we seem to have dodged the bullet to some extent (got a flesh wound
but doesn't seem life-threatening). About 9 PM last night it started
snowing here and the ground was soon covered by a light dusting. It stayed
cloudy until about midnight. These two factors seem to have saved us from
the predicted low of 14. At 5:30 Am this morning, my thermometer
registered just below 20F, and I have some reports from outlying colder
districts of 16-18F. Not a great difference, but could be crucial for
certain plants.
Everything looked pretty frozen this morning. Can't really check for
damage until this afternoon, but I am hopeful. These are the same
circumstances that really dealt a setback two years ago to outdoor Iris
japonica. We shall see.
Speaking of I. japonica, I've noticed that the variegated variety has a
definite tendency to mutate back to all green. Is this anyone else's
experience?
Weather gurus are saying that our advanced season is due to the night-time
lows not being as low as usual and that day-time highs have only been
slightly above normal. In other words, the nights have been warmer but the
days only slightly so. Had the days been proportionally as warm as the
nights, they say, we would have been much,much farther along and far more
vulnerable to these Montreal Expresses.
With daffodils in full bloom NOW, what about all those daffodil shows
scheduled for April?
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>
