Something's Off - Blooming Flowers Michigan

a reply to: Realtruth

Sno drops. Don't they bloom every year about now?
My daffodils are six inches out of the ground and pansies that I planted in November are blooming. And they were covered in ten inches of snow two weeks ago.
Though that didn't stay long. Four days later it was 65 degrees and the snow was all gone. I live in Virginia where winter is very mild most of the time.

All our critters are acting about normal for this time of year.

None of my early bulbs are coming except for the Dutch Iris and the stupid things have always put up shoots in November, so they don't count. No new growth on my vine which usually blooms about May. I did have some very early shoots on my columbine, but they got frozen off.

And our weather should be back down to yearly seasonal temps by mid week next week.

a reply to: ketsuko

I'm hoping it's just a warmer than usual January thaw.
After the next few days.....
www.accuweather.com.../1/2017
winter returns

In Georgia we are returning to the weather that I remember. As a child I remember playing outside barefoot with short pants and a t-shirt in pleasant weather on Christmas Day. I only remember 2 or 3 snows in 30 years. Around 2000 the weather changed . The summers were cool (low 80s) and the winters were cold and plenty of snow. That was not natural . This past year we had 90+ summer days and so far pleasant winter. However , in normal circumstances we had to be careful in February and March . Especially the cold , cold days of early February and the blizzards of March. Rare , but not unheard of.

a reply to: Lolliek

The azaleas should be fine. They set bud in the summer and winter in that stage. They respond to light levels rather than temps so unless the world speeds up the rotation around the sun they still won't bloom until April or May. Hopefully. I have over twenty in my yard.

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: Realtruth

Sno drops. Don't they bloom every year about now?

Snowdrops bloom typically in March here, and way before the Phlox I took a pic of. I'll actually have to take a look now, cause I have some in the backyard, and didn't even think to check.

a reply to: Realtruth

I remember in the 1980's we had warm weather like this. We were on Christmas break and running around outside and got our bikes out. This was in Michigan.

It is the same here in Pennsylvania.
I got the snowblower started last month and stocked up on ice melt.
Now it looks like I might have to mow the lawn again soon.
40s and 50s is very strange for this time of year.

a reply to: Realtruth

Reporting in from northern Wisconsin. Usually a ton of snow on the ground and our average high temp is 19 degrees right now. We did have two very cold snaps this Winter, but right now, and it was a ten-day forecast last week, we are having 40 degree temps. Very unusual. Our snowmobile trails are all but gone right now. Rain in the forecast for next couple of days.

Also, on the strange side... our Asian lady bugs are coming out. And we have some fly's crawling around, but not flying. These bugs don't belong in January!

a reply to: ketsuko

Yep...I've seen 40 degree days in the "summer" season and 70-80 degree days in February...Weather changes...however, it's usually a bit more towards the cold side here than it is now.

Most plants are hardwired to be in sync with the amount of sun that reaches the ground from day to day.

Thawing of the ground from unseasonably warm temperatures may be causing them to put out feelers, but the amount of sunlight in the day will more than likely stop many more from blooming.

I have seen warmer winters than this before and observed the same thing here in Wisconsin.

Don't panic...Yet.

a reply to: kelbtalfenek

We just got done with a large El Nino comparable to 1998. It takes time to bleed that out of the system.

a reply to: MyHappyDogShiner

Yes!

If this happens year after year, for maybe four or five years or starts ramping up to where we never see any freezing at all, then I start to wonder.

a reply to: Rezlooper

PA here and the warms drew out the stink bugs, which joyfully I might, add got annihilated!
It's supposed to tank again back to our normally scheduled cold temps.

Thus is the first time ever that The Old Farmers Almanac has been incorrect. That alone was stunning! We were supposed to have more cold and snow, and given the el nino thingy last year they should have been correct. The jet stream doing it's loop'd loops has brought us the south's ice storms instead and rain.

Hopefully we will have another cool summer!

originally posted by: MyHappyDogShiner

Don't panic...Yet.

Well it's not so much panic as it is concern for the growing seasons of commercial fruit farmers. Many of them have lost their entire crop from radically changing weather patterns.

It only takes on hard freeze to kill off opening buds on apple trees. Last year we had a warm winter, then a hard freeze and lost some trees, and our entire crop.

Losing blooms is one thing, but when you lose the leaf buds it can damage or kill fruit trees.

a reply to: Caver78

They were predicting a La Nina, but it hasn't panned out. We're currently at neutral conditions.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: MyHappyDogShiner

Yes!

If this happens year after year, for maybe four or five years or starts ramping up to where we never see any freezing at all, then I start to wonder.

You think this is the first year? Where have you been?

The weather has been freakish here in South Texas, too.
It's 80 degrees in January.
We've had two days of winter so far. A cold front hit and it dropped into the low 20's.
The birds seem confused.

originally posted by: Rezlooper

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: MyHappyDogShiner

Yes!

If this happens year after year, for maybe four or five years or starts ramping up to where we never see any freezing at all, then I start to wonder.

You think this is the first year? Where have you been?

Living through several pretty normal years.

There will always be years where the weather during this or that time of year is off, either warmer of colder, wetter or dryer, than normal.

But just having one of those years doesn't make it a trend especially if the year that follows is either normal or swerves the other way.

Sorry, my alarm bells are not set off by just a single outlier year in one direction. You need to get me several of them in a row before I start to think things are off.

Give me a repeat of the Dust Bowl '30s and I might think we have a problem, but we haven't had that.

a reply to: Rezlooper

I had lady bugs in my house this week too.

Thought it was just a fluk.

Shame about the trails. It started out good. This last weekend all the hotels were full in Minocqua.

Ice fishing has been good where I'm at.