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Spring flowering


Summer8906

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Posted
  • Location: Hampshire
  • Weather Preferences: Bright weather. Warm sunny thundery summers, short cold winters.
  • Location: Hampshire

Maybe not strictly related to winter, but more to spring - but relevant as it relates to how things are now, while still meteorological winter.

It would be interesting to discuss how the spring flowering is progressing, compared to previous years.

I'm noticing here (South Hampshire) an odd mix. Firstly the plum blossom seems very early, perhaps two to three weeks earlier than normal: some peaking around mid-Feb and others peaking now, while perhaps early to mid March is the norm. It's been comparable to 2014 but not as far ahead as 2016 or 2020.

However other species are not so early, daffodils perhaps a week earlier than normal - they have been slowed down a little by the recent windstorms as the numbers increased significantly before the Dudley-Eunice-Franklin sequence but have slowed down since. Thus, daffodils now do not seem especially early now, though in mid Feb they did.

Also crocuses seem to be doing very badly this year, they first came out (a little) late Jan but are struggling even now - no good displays just yet.

I wonder if some species respond to different types of weather? For example one might suggest that spells of extreme mild weather in winter bring plum blossom out very early, and hard frosts do little to counteract that. By contrast, perhaps crocuses are slowed down by frosts (even if it's very mild at other times) and lack of sun (this month seems to have been rather cloudy on the whole).

Later in the season, bluebells seem to be another species which come out very early if it has been at all very mild-warm - even if it's been rather cloudy.

Edited by Summer8906
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Posted
  • Location: Welwyn Garden City
  • Weather Preferences: Seasonal and interesting weather including summer storms and winter snow
  • Location: Welwyn Garden City

My little Tete a Tete at the front of my house where the sun comes up are in full bloom whereas the ones in the back in the shade are nowhere near as developed. 

Having said that the ones in the front  have all their heads hanging down as so they are trying to avoid the worst of this stormy weather we have been having.

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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire

I'm surprised at how long the daffs are taking to flower here given how mild this winter has been. We're yet to have a frost this month.

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Posted
  • Location: N.E. Scotland South Side Moray Firth 100m asl
  • Location: N.E. Scotland South Side Moray Firth 100m asl
41 minutes ago, Nick L said:

I'm surprised at how long the daffs are taking to flower here given how mild this winter has been. We're yet to have a frost this month.

Aurora Storms birthday is in two days time and when she was born daffs were at yellow bud stage .This year they are hardly breaking the surface and  flowering well into May as happened last spring looks possible. From  observations of grass/turnips and other plants in garden Arwen seemed to really chill the ground at the end of November and brought all growth to a halt. The ground has never seemed to warm up since perhaps with windchill from all the windy weather we have had since. Slight ground frosts have happened as well in spite of all the wind. This combined with a distinct lack of any winter sunshine. Solar panal  charging for calving camera has hardly worked since Arwen.

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Posted
  • Location: Welwyn Garden City
  • Weather Preferences: Seasonal and interesting weather including summer storms and winter snow
  • Location: Welwyn Garden City
1 hour ago, Northernlights said:

Aurora Storms birthday is in two days time and when she was born daffs were at yellow bud stage .This year they are hardly breaking the surface and  flowering well into May as happened last spring looks possible. From  observations of grass/turnips and other plants in garden Arwen seemed to really chill the ground at the end of November and brought all growth to a halt. The ground has never seemed to warm up since perhaps with windchill from all the windy weather we have had since. Slight ground frosts have happened as well in spite of all the wind. This combined with a distinct lack of any winter sunshine. Solar panal  charging for calving camera has hardly worked since Arwen.

Good points.

Aurora Storms....what a lovely name. I wonder what inspired it?? ..

Of course being in north east Scotland things would natually be a bit behind the south of the uk. However being a gardener i have noticed in general over the last few years with the exception of this one that spring flowers were coming up earlier. On one occasion daffodil bulbs coming up in December. 

This year growth definately retarded somewhat for reasons you have outlined. 

Oddly i have also noted some species of clematis and Rose still with buds ready to bloom during December. Ersinghams also often keep going throughout the winter.

In general spring seems to be occurring earlier in recent years with many of those years with no decent winters to speak of...although that is obviously dependent on where you live. I should imagine you have had more snow up where you are than down here. More on the way too by the looks of it....

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam
On 23/02/2022 at 14:21, Nick L said:

I'm surprised at how long the daffs are taking to flower here given how mild this winter has been. We're yet to have a frost this month.

Same with the snowdrops, up here. Still snowdrops in flower and its nearly the start of March. 

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Posted
  • Location: Islington, C. London.
  • Weather Preferences: Cold winters and cool summers.
  • Location: Islington, C. London.

The church gardens behind our house has a decent smattering of daffodils - some of which have opened - and also some blossom on the trees. There’s also a small bush in our forecourt/car park that started growing leaves on it in the past month which I found unusual. Otherwise everything else looks to be as it should. It definitely feels a little early down to February’s mildness, but because of the very frosty January that was enough to stop any real unusually early growth. About half a mile away from here is - I think - a cherry blossom that’s been in bloom the whole winter. I’m not sure why or if that’s normal but it never lost any petals. 

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Posted
  • Location: South Derbyshire
  • Location: South Derbyshire

I’ve had tall daffodils in bloom since January 31 and my tête-à-tête daffodils are opening now. I also have hyacinths in full bloom along with snowdrops and crocus. The mildness of this winter hasn’t affected the timing of flowers at all as during last year’s cold winter they flowered at the exact same time.

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Posted
  • Location: Yorkshire
  • Location: Yorkshire

Snowdrops did not start blooming until the first week in February and still looking strong. Crocuses only started blooming last week and have not hit their best yet. Daffodils just started to pop out in a few places this weekend. So pretty much a week to two weeks behind (advanced) recent years for the usual suspects. I presume this is down to the very murky/drizzly December and very frosty January in the Vale of York, both of which were significantly drier than average, which could be key.  Gorse seems about normal. Few Cherries seen yet but a few buds on our Ornamental Plum are opening, which seems a few days early. I've noticed Aubrieta has opened early in a few places on the ground where it probably had moisture and plentiful sun from melting frost but not on walls where they've only received moisture - too much - in the last couple of weeks.

Oh, and that grey drizzly December seems to have been great for ivy. It's far from in flower but has grown a lot when I'm trying to get rid of the chuffing stuff!

Edited by Aleman
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Posted
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl

A few daffodils popping up in places, mainly the smaller species. My crocus came out about 2 weeks ago. Not sure what plant it is but there is one turning a tinge of green. 

Last year early spring growth about now was severely stunted in April. My magnolia was burnt by frost first time not flowered since I lived where I am admittedly only observed since 2016. Hoping it will flower this year. 

Edited by damianslaw
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Posted
  • Location: Hampshire
  • Weather Preferences: Bright weather. Warm sunny thundery summers, short cold winters.
  • Location: Hampshire

Updating after being out quite a bit at the weekend.

Plum blossom perhaps peaking around now, I think the recent windstorms slowed it a little so while it seemed very early indeed, it's perhaps running 10 days ahead of normal now compared to around three weeks at one point.

Crocus peaking now, which by contrast seems late.

Daffodils out in quite a few places but still some to come out. Again, they seemed very early mid-Feb, and less so now: again maybe Eunice and co slowed them down a bit.

Signs of cow parsley leaves coming up.

Remains approximately comparable with 13/14 and now, 18/19 (which had a slow start but raced ahead due to the extreme temperatures of late Feb) though the crocuses are definitely later.

Early March seems less mild than the models were showing recently, perhaps even cold at times so maybe in a week's time a lot of things will be close to normal.

 

Edited by Summer8906
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Posted
  • Location: halifax 125m
  • Weather Preferences: extremes the unusual and interesting facts
  • Location: halifax 125m

Lots of Daffodills about around the country even Scotland but here in the Pennines none at all out as yet,certainly later than recent years.

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