An Early Riser
With temperatures in the high 30s today the last thing I expected to see were pips showing.
It's a sport of Montana Aureomarginata which is noted for it's early showing.
My MA. is showing no signs.
I guess a few milder days and some sunshine on a black pot have warmed it enough to promote growth. This cold snap will slow it down but the pips will be vulnerable.
I will have to either mulch it or cover with fleece and hope it's ok.
This was it on 2nd of April last year
Six weeks early this year.
Dave
Comments (7)
josephines167 z5 ON Canada
8 years agoRelated Discussions
What is the early riser?
Comments (3)Thanks for the quick replies. No other perennial is even close to being in bloom. It shows it as being invasive in some areas. I never noticed it till this year....See MoreGood timing for some early risers
Comments (17)Mbug, you are way ahead of many of us with the yard work! The newly applied mulch showcases your hostas beautifully. It is so nice to see them at this stage and the colours are so vivid. So fresh, so spring-like! Love it! So motivating! Blue Cadet is drool-worthy. Perfection of a mature hosta at this stage...can't wait to see it fully open. Seeing your MD, I am excited about what I can expect from my Mourning Dove...having only acquired it last year. The muted colour it is showing at unfurling is so soothing. You said you moved it... to less sun or...? Jon, you must be so excited! You did so much planting last year - must be gratifying to see those l a r g e shoots showing! So lovely. (I thought if I posted a photo of my teeny pips right after your photos, peeps would peer and say...so, where are the hostas?...lol) "Spring has sprung / The grass is riz / I wonder where dem birdies is!" from where do I remember that ditty???...See MoreEarly Risers an update
Comments (8)Hi, Pieter! What's new in your garden? Do you have anything sprouting yet? Thank you for the heads-up re leaving roots in water too long but I have a story to share that I hope you will find interesting. For the past several years I have been leaving hostas in water for various reasons but mainly to rehydrate, as in this case without any repercussions. I have also left hostas (that need transplanting but nowhere to go immediately) all summer in pails of water (ensuring crown is above water level) and I have posted about this previously and included pictures. 100% survival rate. Roots could potentially rot if the water is not kept fresh and changed frequently and/or there is soil or media still attached to the root system.... otherwise, they will actually survive in just water for months on end. They may even sprout dormant buds ahead of time. At least, that has been my experience. Golden Sunburst is a fine example in my garden. I have also frozen exposed hosta roots in water during the winter, outdoors and the plant has survived once planted in its permanent location in the spring. (admittedly a bit radical but no damage or loss) Leaving roots in water also produces additional root growth as well....based on first-hand experience in several instances. Go figure, huh? :)...See MoreSome early risers....
Comments (10)Your post would be more useful if you identified your location. Somewhere far south of me or a place where global warming hasn't been delayed with the coldest Spring in decades. 27F last night....See More
Jon 6a SE MA
8 years agoI had some daffodils pushing up at Christmas time. The cold made them think twice about an early start.
I have heard that as long as they don't open up and leaf out they should be fine. Covered in snow right now which will give them protection from the minus 5-10 degrees (-10 inland where I am) Fahrenheit and wind chill of minus 20-30 expected this weekend here. It is cold now and going to get a lot worse.
They looked fine before they were buried in snow. I expect they will be fine. I don't know about hosta, but they must have a similar 'antifreeze' in the crowns that daffodils and other bulb plants have in the bulbs and evidently in unfolded spouts. After all it sometimes it freezes two feet deep here and hosta survive, dormant buried. Once they unfold the added surface area must radiate too much heat and they freeze and die off. This is why we huddle up to stay warm. ;-}
With temps in the high 30's I'm pretty sure you will be fine. They say 70 seconds in the cold we are going to have can start to cause frostbite.
Jon
Pieter zone 7/8 B.C.
8 years agoThis is my early riser -shot this past Thursday- it's Hosta clausa var. normalis and this is fairly typical for this species in my garden, and of course potted plants pip before the ones in the ground.....
Pieter
bchosta 8b west coast canada
8 years agoLiving in the same neck of the woods as Pieter, I have several that are displaying shoots the same size as the picture above, including Montana A., Frank Lloyd Wright, Glorious, Neptune, High Society, and Irish Luck. We've had another abnormally mild winter thus far, and the forecast calls for further mild temps in the days ahead. For now, I just added some fine bark mulch on top of the pots and have covered them with larger pots to restrict the light they receive. However, there's not a great deal more to be done. Here's a pic. from last year - Montana A. on Feb. 7th.
It was leafed out by the beginning of March and quickly went downhill thereafter. I'll see what happens, but a repeat of last year might just prompt me to pass it onto a friend. It's a shame because the plant is one of my favourites. However, recent weather trends here have conspired to thwart its development!
BC
zkathy z7a NC
8 years agobchosta 8b west coast canada
8 years ago
hostanista