What's Breaking Dormancy in your yard?

15 years ago

Lots of my perennials and trees are breaking dormancy:

Flowering Quince - Flower Buds about to open!

Park's Whopper Tomato - 2 flowers!

Prunus Pendula - 1st blooms 2/7

Dw.Gingko - Budded up leaves beg 2/7

Catawba Crepe Myrtle - tiny (8" tall) leaf buds 2/22

Dw Betula - leaf buds 2/22

PG Hydrangea - first leaf buds 2/20

Acer Palmatum Shin de shojo - leaf buds 2/18

Viridis - 2/23

Mikawa

Emperor 1

Sharp's Pygmy - 2/24

Burgundy Lace

Bearss Lime - leaf buds 1/20

Tangerine - leaf buds 2/25

Valencia Orange - leaf buds 2/11

Meyer Impr Lemon - has ripe fruit

ripening fruit

new blooms mid Jan

Br Turkey Fig - a leaf bud on 2/18

All but the tomato are in containers. Every year I know it's coming and every year it is a brand new thrill! Don't you just love growing things?

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Comments (17)

queerbychoice
15 years ago
At the moment? Nothing at all. Not a bud to be seen anywhere. But I'm expecting my Western redbud to start budding soon, and California golden poppies, and hopefully coral bells. I don't think I'll get any more than that until April.
Babka NorCal 9b
15 years ago
Purple leaf plums are full of blooms, and hostas are beginning to poke up their noses. Northern California, near San Jose.

-Babka
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You'll want to prolong the dormancy period as long as possible until outside conditions will support strong, healthy growth. Keep the trees as cool as possible and water just enough to give the root-zone just a little moisture. Keep them dark and cool until at least mid-April. Do not let brebas form, or they will delay the onset of main-crop figs. If possible, keep the basement cooler, and, darker. Mid-January is no time for figs to start growing. Figs that break dormancy too soon will just become weak. You need to control this, or you'll be in for a fight each year to keep these trees healthy and robust. This forum has all the information that you will need to know in order to solve this problem, you'll just have to find a way to duplicate the recommended solutions. Maybe, if the trees are small enough and in containers, they can be stored in the unheated garage of a neighbor, or friend? Hope this helps. Wishing you the best. BronxFigs
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If you are wondering whether it is just establishing good roots before growing out the top you can pop it out of the pot to check :) advice from Matt at HCR when I asked him about my Jeanne LaJoie which didn't seem to be growing at all. I had planted it in a 2gallon pot when it arrived this spring and it was still green but zero growth. He said it wouldn't hurt it to just gently tip it out of the pot to check for roots, they do it all the time, and sure enough it was almost at the point of growing out the bottom. Don't know if that jolted it or if it was just ready to start the top growth but a few days later it started so I'm happy!
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keeversgirl
15 years ago
Dormancy?? What's that? LOL I swear, the only things we've had go dormant or die is a few deciduous trees, and my summer garden crop. Other then that, everything is still FINE! Weird stuff I tell ya...
queerbychoice
15 years ago
I finally have flowers! And they're not on any of the plants I expected them on. My golden currant (Ribes aureum) is covered with tiny yellow flowers.
gobluedjm 9/18 CA
15 years ago
My plum tree is just starting to flower and lots of perennials are budding out.
Even my new concha and joyce coulter ceanothus put in last fall are budding.
calpat
15 years ago
Daffodils are blooming and the Forsytheia is a mass of bright yellow blooming branches.
skrip
15 years ago
Got some closeups of some blooms yesterday. Rather than link each one you guys can check'em out:

Around the Garden
CA Kate z9
15 years ago
Everything!
barbiekemp
15 years ago
I have a few deciduous redwoods calla lillies, and a peach tree that are coming back to life. Most of the rest of my stuff is still going all year.

Oh, yeah! Cymbidiums are lushly in bloom in the backyard planter.
bagarden
15 years ago
I have apricot tree, flowering quince and most spring bulbs! Below are pictures how this spring is progressing.

http://picasaweb.google.com/hui.jacobson/Spring09#

Hui
queerbychoice
15 years ago
Spring is finally reaching me! New leaves on my redbud, milkweed, grapevine, and California fuchsia. Flowers on one currant, flower buds on the other currant. Flower buds on my coral bells. One small green flower bud on a California golden poppy.
tammysf
15 years ago
Daffodils blooming
Lancetilla mango has new growth and flower buds
Carrie mango has a bunch of new growth
Glenn mango has new growth
Cherimoya dropped all its leaves (normal I heard)
Peach tree has a bunch of little fruit
Strawberries are blooming with a handful of berries
Meyer lemon has new growth and blossom buds
Roses are pushing out new growth
Maple bonsais all have lush new leaves

I'm in bay area/marin
carolsun
15 years ago
As of April 2
lilacs
tulips finishing up
lunaria
viburnum juddii just starting
erysimums continuing
strawberries
bolting choy
all rose bushes in bud
still waiting for sweetpeas, irises, etc.
User
15 years ago
As of today (4/2):

cotinus coggyria "Atropurpurea" leafed out at least a month ago
fruiting plum tree just beginning to flower
birch "Royal Frost" leafing out
cornus nuttallii totally leafed out
rhododendron occidentale buds finally breaking, should be in leaf in a couple days

still waiting for the Japanese maple, nootka rose and birchbark cherry!
Christine Decker
15 years ago
ditto~ Everthing!
crepe myrtle
daffodils
roses,
fruit trees,
bearded iris's
sea pinks
tulips
geraniums
petunias
strawberries
5'o clocks
trumpet vine
flowering plum tree
magnolias have buds

waiting on sweet peas, ranunculus, marigolds (from seed)
cosmos, poppies, too many to list are still seedlings
PRO
Kahnke Brothers Tree Farm
13 years ago
My crocuses started blooming on April 3rd. With the year we have had here in south western Minnesota, they are wonderful to see. Also, we had so much snow cover that I have one entire garden where none of my plants went completely dormant. After the snow melted, I was just surprised! I have shasta daisies, yarrow, lobelia, and more and they are all as green as they could be!
jenn
13 years ago
Few of our plants go completely dormant but those that do are leafing out, most starting last month (March 2011):

- Crepe Myrtle 'Zuni' - the new leaves open in fall colors and turn green as they age -- beautiful!
- Chiltalpa tashkinensis - started early April
- Salvia regla - looks like a giant tumbleweed in winter, just starting to leaf out now
- Hydrangea microphylla - my precious Hydrangea, a gift from work after my dad's passing in 2008.
- Asiatic lily - another special gift, this one from our neighbor.
- Manzanita 'Dr. Hurd'

What's Breaking Dormancy in your yard?

Comments (17)

queerbychoice

Babka NorCal 9b

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