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my snowdrops are blooming and so are hellebores...

17 years ago

With this warm weather we having snowdrops which usually mid Feb bloomers for me and hellebores which even later bloomers are going into bloom now. It would not be alarming news if my new spirea Yellow Mellow did not start getting fresh leaves as well. I love that spirea, magnificent color and excellent accent plant but is there anything I could do to save it when it gets cold? After all it is beginning of Jan only..

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Comments (4)

gdionelli
17 years ago
My snowdrops are blooming also, and I have buds on the Rijnveld's Early Sensation daffodils.

Sorry, I don't grow spirea, so I don't know about it. But I've had other plants put out new leaves in a warm spell, then freeze and live to tell the tale.
laceyvail 6A, WV
17 years ago
Nothing here is blooming yet, but Iris reticulata and Daffs are sticking their noses up. We will see more and more of this (and more and more of other things we can't even imagine yet) as global warming speeds up. We haven't had snow in at least three years--and I miss winter. Farewell, my friend.
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ljrmiller, Right on! You hit the nail on the head, er, squashed the bug with your green thumb, that is. Oh, and I mean the harmful-to-plants bug. (Why do I have to make everything so complicated?) As for the plant-killing part, I'm just about an expert in that field. ( = I do keep trying, and keep killing plants, and keep trying, and some are actually learning how to survive. Perhaps this madness can be likened to... well, let's not get into analogies. Thanks for posting!
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Be reassured, I would agree fully with Gardengal at this time of year it is standard practice for nurseries to strip the leaves before shipping. Much easier for them, little or no harm for the hellebores and greatly reduced possibility of getting fungal infections through tissue damaged in transit. I took all the leaves off my H.hybridus yesterday, as the new flower buds are coming through and it's much easier to remove leaves from the plants when you don't have to be quite so careful. Once established, even with clean healthy plants it's still worth taking the leaves off between now and February, as this allows you to see the new blooms coming through and it also prevents wind rock, getting a space round the collar which is caused by the winter winds rocking (especially newly planted) plants in the ground. This space can fill with water and freeze causing lots of damage or loss. As a general rule, if you want to keep the evergreen foliage, have a look at this time of year and take off any damaged or prostrate leaves(rubbing on the ground in the winter can allow fungal attack if the tissue once gets damaged). Gently firm the soil round the collar if it needs it. Leave the rest of the leaves through till first bud burst Jan-March depending on your plants and situation. Then carefully prune the rest of this years leaves off, giving a good organic humous rich mulch at the same time. This will not only give you a chance to see your plants really close up, but will also give you a chance to show them off to perfection, freshly mulched. It's a good time too to make notes on which you want to split, dig out, move, hand pollinate for seed etc. You can play silly games like tracking how many leaves you cut off each successive year, a good indication of how strong your growth is. Hope this helps. Cheers, Greenmanplants
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Hi, I'm new to the Mid-Atlantic forum. Lots beginning to pop here near the New Jersey shore. The hellebores are beginning to look tired, having started their bloom in January. Most of the snowdrops are still looking fresh, though they're nearing the end or their bloom cycle. Crocus is in full bloom, daffodils are opening, and the forsythia is just beginning to bloom. Some of the pachysandra has been in bloom for about a week ... what's with that? All kinds of spring bulbs are pushing up foliage, and there's new growth visible on the irises, daylilies, Montauk Daisy, hollyhock, geranium and clematis. Noticed a primrose blossom just beginning to open today. Now is when I can see where I wish I had planted bulbs ... must remember to go out and mark the spots so I can follow through come fall. I see a lot of roses and other shrubs leafing out too, hope we don't have a late hard frost. Tree peony began unfurling its leaves a month ago, so has been protected with a teepee of bamboo canes and clear plastic ... only its second season and it has six large flower buds! The garlic is really beginning to grow rapidly and the veggies that overwintered (late-planted spinach, carrots, peas) are greening up and showing new growth. Some of our worst snow storms have been in April ... but, with all this going on, here's hoping for an early - and uninterrupted - spring this year. Diane
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not a sniff here - although, looking at the lunar landscape which used to be my spring border, it is entirely likely that any little bulbs are now mashed beyond redemption due to puppies insane burying habits (must starve the little sod) Have reluctantly bid farewell to a whole slew of erythroniums I planted last year and the one remaining yellow hellebore (which I mistakenly thought was hidden and inaccessible) is nothing more than a crushed stump. Since we seem to be going backwards in pee training - puppy shivers in garden, looking witless and pathetic only to pee on kitchen floor as soon as she races back inside, I am having deep regrets about the wisdom of getting a new dog in winter...especially since my only 2 warm jumpers have been either claimed for the dogbed (as if it ever stoops to actually sleeping in this rather than on my bed)...or chewed. Am seriously doubting the wisdom of the internet which cautions us to 'avoid shouting at puppy, at all times as it will become confused and neurotic'.As opposed to incontinent and lazily triumphant?
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debgrow
17 years ago
Oh, I'll have to go look at my snowdrops - mine must be coming up now, too! And, I'm wondering about things I had planned to prune in February - like Sweet Autumn Clematis and some shrubs - wondering if I shoud prune them now instead of waiting until then?

And, thinking I need to add more "fall bloomers" to the gardens, given that fall may happen in August this year! And, maybe zone 5 is now the new zone 6?

Very weird. I wish it was bitter cold and snowy like it's supposed to be in Chicago in January - this is creepy!
stevation
17 years ago
Here in the Rockies, we've been cold enough lately. We haven't had the blizzards in Utah like they've had in Colorado, but we have a good snowstorm going on right now. We did have an unusual autumn, though, with a lot of rain at first, then a long, dry warm spell, then cold, then low 60s in early December, then bitter cold.

Since skiing is important to Utah, someone is putting on a SaveOurSnow symposium in Park City next week. Some of you might be interested in the findings. Here's a quote about it:

"The results of a $60,000.00 climate modeling study done by scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder will be released. Using the latest available global warming data and satellite images this study looks at what our snow pack will be in 2030, 2060 and at the end of the century."

After the release next week, you might be able to find the Boulder study online. Being a politically conservative state, there is a lot of skepticism about global warming around here. I think many people are just burying their heads in the sand and believing what Sean Hannity and other pundits tell them.

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