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October 18, 2007 · 1 Comment

Fall Bloomers: A Sign of Zone Creep?

Climate

delphinium in bloom

Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens — I wish my delphinium looked this good!

Maybe it’s the heavy rains we have had this fall or a sign of global warming, but I’m finding surprising things blooming. Yesterday, I discovered new blooms on an English Larkspur (Delphinium elatum ‘Pagan Purples’). I bought the larkspur late in the spring in hopes of getting taller flowers in the back of my front bed. According to the plant tag, this particular variety is supposed to grow 5 to 6 feet tall. (Other sources say 4 to 5 feet.) Unfortunately, right after I planted it, the weather turned very dry and I got very busy and neglectful of the garden. It died–or so I thought. Even though it had wilted right to the ground, a new plant emerged after I got around to watering the flowers more. It bloomed a couple of times in the summer, and now in mid-October. It never got tall–perhaps due to its difficult youth–but its still a lovely plant.

This morning, I noticed my catmint (Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’) had several new blooms on it, too. Walker’s Low is known as a prolific bloomer, and I cut mine back after its first bloom in June to promote a second round of flowers. I expected them earlier or not at all.

It’s hard to know how to react to blooms in mid-October–part of me wants to rejoice. And, it’s certainly possible that the dry spell we had in July and August delayed blooms that would have appeared earlier had adequate rain fallen. Now it’s wet and not too cold so the plants bloom. Another part of me feels a little spooked by this much blooming so late.

Felicia Parsons, a horticulturist and writer, whose also a jeweler, wrote an excellent article on gardening with climate change in the July/August 2007 issue of Northern Gardener. She noted that the American Horticulture Society’s heat map (based on how many days over 86 degrees F an area has) shows a distinct zone creep over the USDA’s zone map, which is based largely on how cold things get. The Arbor Day Foundation has also released a zone map showing that Minnesota is getting warmer.

For gardeners, Felicia offers some advice: If you are deciding what to plant, plant what has always worked or try less hardy shrubs and perennials, but be prepared to take a loss if the weather gets back to “normal.” If you are concerned about global warming, do what you can to diminish your energy consumption (buy efficient appliances and better lightbulbs, drive less, plant a tree near the house to provide shade and reduce your need for air conditioning, compost) and watch what is happening in your own garden. Several web sites have been established for people to report changes they see in the plants and wildlife in their area, including this site from an organization in Wisconsin. This blog will be my report on what’s happening in my garden. Let me know what you see in yours.

No related posts.

« Bulbs in a Minor Key
Hooray for Autumn Joy »

Trackbacks

  1. Bloom Tuesday, No. 8 « My Northern Garden says:
    July 1, 2008 at 11:09 am

    […] (Delphinium elatum ‘Pagan Purples’) I planted last summer blooming. This is a plant I had given up for dead at one point, but look at it now. The larkspur adds much needed height to the bed near our front […]

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It’s National Gardening Day! I’m not much for It’s National Gardening Day! I’m not much for special days (sorry, siblings, I missed that one last week) but any excuse to post a picture of a gorgeous peony, I’ll take! 

Peonies are a huge part of Minnesota’s horticultural heritage. They aren’t native but our cold climate is perfect for peonies. They’ve been hybridized in Minnesota for over 150 years, and the state still has several peony breeders based here. If you ever get a chance to go to a peony open day in June, jump on it. Seeing rows and rows of peonies all blooming at once is a northern gardener’s joy. 

Peonies will last forever, too. Plant one in the right place and it will outlive you by decades. What’s your favorite plant? 
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Bulbs aren’t that tricky to grow, though you will have to pull dahlias, gladiolus and canna lilies for the winter. Lilies can stay in the ground. This winter, I left some in their pots and held  them in the unheated garage. They survived and are already putting up foliage. 

Check the 🔗 in bio for links to my interview with Mike Heger as well as the blog post on growing bulbs in containers. 
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#bulbs #summerbulbs #lilies #liliesinpots #containergardening #summergarden #garden #mygarden #monalisalily #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
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In bloom at the big box store: Columbine! These lo In bloom at the big box store: Columbine! These look pretty but most of the in ground columbines are just greening up in Minnesota. That’s one thing to remember when shopping for perennial plants now. If it’s in bloom, it’s a spring plant and will probably be green all summer. Nothing wrong with lots of spring bloom in the garden, but plan for the whole season by picking things that bloom in July, August, even the fall, too. 
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#columbine #plantshopping #gardentips #minnesota #mngarden #coldclimategardening #zone4b #springblooms #garden #perennials #perennialgarden #perennialflowers
So many things are suddenly blooming! . . . #spri So many things are suddenly blooming! 
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#spring #springinmn #bulbs #forsythia #irisreticulata #squill #earlyspring #garden #gardeninspo
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#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo #spring #mnspring #daffodil #springbulbs 
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#growitminnesota #raingardens #pollinators #pollinatorplants #milkweed #growitandtheywillcome #coldclimate #coldclimategardening #minnesota #mngarden #gardenpodcast #mnpodcast
Fun news 🗞! I have an essay in the upcoming iss Fun news 🗞! I have an essay in the upcoming issue of Gardening for Health, a special interest publication of Better Homes & Gardens. It’ll be on newsstands and in grocery stores, home centers, drugstores and more starting tomorrow. The essay is about why gardening matters, for our health, our spirits and our communities. I haven’t seen the layout yet, but I’ll be prowling my local Barnes & Noble tomorrow! Can’t wait to see it. 
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#gardenwriter #gardensmatter #gardeningforhealth #bhgspring #bhggarden #bhgspecialinterestpublications
Wondering what winter burn looks like on shrubs? C Wondering what winter burn looks like on shrubs? Check it out. I’ve got three of these dwarf Alberta spruce. This is the worst case. One has no burn, the third just a bit. This one faces south so it gets the most sun and wind. After it starts growing this spring, I’ll trim off the burn. May need some wrapping next winter. 
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#whatswrongwithmyplant #winterburn #evergreen #albertaspruce #dwarfshrubs #dwarfspruce #garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
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#annualflowers #cosmos #sunflowers #zinnias #growfromseed #growyourownflowers #coldclimategardening #minnesotagardening #northerngardener #zone4b #mnpodcast #gardenpodcast
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