Re: Bloom seasons in northern and southern hemispheres
- Subject: Re: Bloom seasons in northern and southern hemispheres
- From: d* f* <d*@yahoo.com>
- Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2004 19:56:08 -0800 (PST)
Cheryl,
With spring or fall blooming plants in particular, it
is often possible to get a repeat bloom period on some
plants if the conditions that year are suitable. This
is just as common with some northern hemisphere
plants, thinking of things like flowering fruit trees
that may sometimes be blooming in fall rather than the
normal spring flowering.
I haven't noticed this as much with Proteaceae shrubs
that I grow, which admittedly is no more than 20
varieties. With such a large family of plants in both
countries, as well as a range of summer to winter to
all year rainfall in each, you can find members of
almost all Proteaceae genera flowering at all times of
the year. Within a genus such as Protea, there are
also different forms within the same species that can
vary the season of bloom, which most often reflects
differing environmental conditions that encourage
this.
In general, plants that are spring blooming will bloom
in spring regardless of which hemisphere they are
growing in. It is certainly possible to extend bloom
season for some garden cultivated Proteaceae shrubs as
compared to wild habitat plants, as the moisture
levels can be manipulated, and pruning can also be
used to delay blooming, within certain parameters of
adaptability. The mildness of California's coastal
fringes can also extend bloom season, or encourage
unseasonal blooming. Not a Proteacaea shrub, but
Psoralea pinnata can bloom at almost any season, and
often does where I have used in right along the beach,
but is pretty much a late spring to early summer
bloomer in my own Berkeley garden, but this year it is
already pushing a few flowers even here!
David Feix
--- Cheryl Renshaw <cheryl@wr-architect.com> wrote:
> While I'm asking questions on behalf of others,
> here's another:
>
> Someone I know who grew up in South America recently
> spoke to someone
> else who recently returned from a trip to Australia.
> Both have seen
> plants--Southern Hemisphere plants especially, I
> think--blooming during
> the same month in both the northern and southern
> hemisphere (in other
> words, during opposite seasons). Is this unusual, or
> common? What season
> do the proteaceae shrubs bloom in South Africa and
> Australia? Most of
> them seem to bloom over the winter here--is that
> true in their home
> lands as well? I wonder if what they saw was
> uncommon, or if some of
> these plants tend to bloom based on an internal
> 12-month clock,
> regardless of season. That seems unlikely.
>
> Any anecdotes?
>
> Thanks,
> Cheryl
>
> --------------
> Cheryl Renshaw
> cheryl@wr-architect.com
>
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