That's extreme!
Thankfully, we're right on schedule out here in the West...lots of rain, lots of cloud,
with temps in the 50F - 60F range. The snow we had last weekend did take a few flowers and
fruit buds, though.

My Forsythia always seems to bloom late.

Josh

Mike

same here in Toronto; windchill on Monday am -12C!!! (10.4F), temp. Tues. overnight -6C (21F)...
Rina

I hear we're also in for some chillier weather... low 50's it is being said. I don't know...

My Daffodils are half done, Tulips are opening, Lilacs are in full bloom, Forsythia is half done and dropping blooms, Muscari is fully blooming, as are the Scilla, some of the later Crocus, my gorgeous blood red Parrot Tulips are opening... and two small pink Magnolias in pots have huge buds growing! The Peony Trees are beginning to bud. The Tommies are done... and plenty of Thalia Daffodils are waving in lovely white!

A lot of things are blooming already, and everything is leafing up nicely. Even the Paw Paw Tree is loaded with its strange looking maroon and green tulip shaped flowers... maybe we'll actually get fruit this year. There were a couple last season, but something got them before they ripened. The Fuji Apple Tree has a ton of buds! I'm hoping for a ton of apples! The Redbud and other ornamental trees are in full pink and lavender flower... so pretty!

I hope we don't go lower than the 40's... I'd hate to lose everything to frost burn.

You could always group and cover everything overnight, Mike... that might save you a little work moving everything inside. Unless you think it'll stay cold for a while.

It was hot today... and I got the front yard and side yard picked up, ready to mow. Got poked by a huge rose thorn. It left a nice little hole in my arm. Not big or anything, but it still hurt! Some of these roses have so many thorns, I swear you could kill someone by beating them with a branch!

Well... here's hoping for warmer weather that steadies! It's time for spring, already! :-)

I told you not to let that crazy weather trick you, Mike!! You guys all need to get down to So. Fla, it's ALWAYS nice here!

82/70 today! (Yep, rubbin' it in....)

LOL!

PJ

Yeah, supposed to be 20 here tonight. Will be dragging in the blueberry bushes. I think I'll be buying a dolly soon.

I think some of us only wish we could easily choose another permanent destination! For me, moving anywhere is out of the question, so I'm stuck in Central IL with its crazy weather, and a dry interior environment!

It could be worse... I could be up to my chin in snow right now! :-)

Living precisely where I do has taught me a few things about gardening in general... number one, patience is hugely important! It's a very large part of growing outdoors. We tend to get impatient in early spring... we get a few nice days, and we itch to get out there and start tearing into it... but we have to have patience. If we jump the gun too soon, frost could damage a lot.

Feels a lot cooler today... we'll see. The weather guys on tv are not always right!

Have a nice week, everyone!

Supposed to be 32-35 tonight, so I'm dragging everything inside. Its supposed to be 45 tommorow night though, so it'll all go back outside tommorow.

All this talk about patience seems strange to me. It would seem that one of the greatest advantages to container gardening is exactly this sort of weather. I have good size plants, and most people sre just starting seedlings around here. A cold snap can very easily be dealt with in containers, so we have the advantage of being able to start earlier, and avoid many of the pitfalls of such.

Jodik!

I hear you on that one! It does require a lot of patience around these parts and a lot of precise action too..

If I leave my dormant trees inside, they will bust out in weak spindly growth, not use to the sun when temps get that warm. So it's a must they go outside before they ever even begin to think about putting out new growth.
The game begins with, when and how to treat them in order to avoid these stupid last minute frosts and crazy wind.

In this case, this is a very unusual time, winter and spring.
With temps in the 80's for days, unheard of in these parts, then temps back to the 'TEENS' tonight, not only could I loose my potted plants, but I WILL loose all my perennial and dormant in-ground flowers that have decided to pop out a month ahead of schedule.

I was able to cover one Lilac tree only about 4 feet high alreay in bloom. As for the new growth on my roses, the flowers on my Magnolia trees, fruit trees, cherry trees, and Vibernums, they are goners and I am quite upset about that:0(

I actually had to uncover my in-ground figs because they were busting through the covers from all that heat lastweek, which took me forever to protect in the fall, and now I just pulled them out of the ground and will just go back to pots again.

As for my pond..? The Water Lilies will die of freeze if the top of the water becomes icy. The frogs will find a place to hide I am sure of I guess.

You are right, patience and a whole lot of it. Once I loose that, I will go back to a stone yard like my neighbor, and only one potted plant.

PJ, you are way too funny...llolol, but right! You are a big tease...What I would do to sit on a beach in Florida right now.

Rina! That FREEZING! I hope you don't have any perennials to loose too.

Josh! Lucky you that the snow is gone. I guess I should be grateful I don't have to wait till almost June for the real warmth to arrive.

Ed, good lick.

Mike

Hello, everyone!
The weather is cloudy with a chill wind blowing...but no snow. We did have rain this weekend.
My citrus are back in the cold-frame until it warms up.

Josh

We're into the lower 20's again for tonight. Brrr! I was getting sooo used to the 60's! :) I did manage to cover my potted plants and some hostas that were starting to bud out in their pots. Hope that'll do! The only problem I have is that I have to work tomorrow 7 to 3 so I won't be home to uncover. Grrr... I did ask my hubby to do it but he will probably "forget" lol. So, I'm sure they'll survive if I uncover when I get home. I had to do it before and I'll just have to do it again! lol

You know, right about 10 o'clock tonight when it decides to drop into the 20's, I am going to stand out there and spray my trees down with water, especially my Vibernums and Lilacs so that a coat of ice covers the buds and protects them from temps below 32 degrees. What a joke, right?

With winds at 30 miles an hour and temps that dry and cold, I am bound to have a lot of bud blast unless I do something. They are just to big to cover:-(
Figures, this year is the best year for buds I have ever had because of our mild winter.

I wonder what Home Depot and Lowes will do about their hundreds of potted plants in full flower? They have not even moved them in at all. No covers either.

Mike

Mike

Wow, here in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, it has been GREAT! It's been unseasonably warm for weeks now, and looks like it will remain that way. I have already planted out my veggie garden with the cool season crops, something that usually has to wait until April. I've unearthed my bonsai trees, which are growing now. Also, my succulents have been getting to play outside everyday, soaking up some long awaited direct sun. Today was chilly, only in the mid 40's, but one day is it, the 60's are due to return tomorrow.

So, I feel bad that some of you are getting hosed, but, I do have empathy, because last year, we had freezing nighttime temps in June yet, and I was forced to truck all of my succulents, tomatoes, and peppers in the house every night until late June. Heck, I didn't get the tomatoes and peppers in the ground until July! So, I am happily taking this warm spring.

Joe

Hi Guys!!!

Im doing the Plant shuffle today and i finally gave in to the last of the trees just a few minutes ago. I felt so bad about wrapping frost cloth around a few trees and finally went outside to drag those heavy bad boys in.

We are supposed to have the lows down into the mid 30's tonight and im not taking any chances on these trees and other plants. Some are in the greenhouse and the others are in my greatroom and back bathroom. I hope that this will only be a problem for the next few days. They are saying that we will have cold temps again tomorrow night as well and then the daytime highs will be in the mid 60's low 70's. My poor trees are so confused...

All of the flowering Cherry trees have dropped their blooms and im sure the trees in DC have suffered as well.

Mike,

I hope your little frogs find some shelter. They know where to hide and they will probably fare better than the other trees that are blooming right now... Sigh.. I thought we were going to have an early spring.

Hope you all are doing well...

Hi Jodi!!! Hope your trees and family are doing alright!!! I can't wait to see some pics of what your are doing with your Roses!!! : )

Take care,

Laura

WoW!
Listening to your stories makes me realize just how SPOILED we are down here in the tropics!!!!

Gardening where there is a winter takes some serios DEDICATION...LOL!

BRAVO!

PJ

Lucky so far. Buds are just starting to come out. It was very warm without rain and seemed to hold them back. As soon as we got rain the buds started swelling fast on the fruit trees and blueberries, but I think they will be ok. I kept my pepper and tomato starts indoors under the lights.

I did dig up a couple of the vegetable gardens and planted some spinach and radish which don't mind frost. Now I just hope the fruits and berries can hold off until things warm up for the season.. Here's hoping...