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April 15, 2010 · 5 Comments

Blooms Ahead of Schedule

Climate

yellow and orange tulips

Tulips bloomed early in 2010.

The tulips in front of my house are in full bloom today — about three weeks to a month earlier than previous years. In 2009, I wrote about these on May 13, and commented that they had lingered longer than usual due to cool wet weather. On the same date in 2008, the blog noted that the purple tulips at the back of this photo were opening up.

blue and white scilla

Scilla or squill is one of the earliest bulbs to bloom in Minnesota.

Here it is April 15, and the full regalia of tulips are blooming. The squill (Scilla) that are among the earliest blooms in my yard have bloomed and faded. (The picture at right was taken almost a week ago.) Friends have commented that their crocus are done already and my next door neighbor’s azaleas are opening up. Magnolias all around town are in bloom. In back, the fritillaria look dainty and lovely. In 2009, these were in bloom around May 5.

Our “perfect” winter ended abruptly in mid-March, but it seems dicey to go ahead with spring planting because we are still a month from the last frost date for this area. I have planted some cool weather crops, of course, but am wondering: Has anyone taken the plunge and planted the rest of their garden in anticipation of no more frosts or cold weather? Who is a garden gambler? And, what have you done?

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Comments

  1. Penelope says

    April 15, 2010 at 5:09 pm

    My daffs have been blooming for two weeks and are now past their peak (last year they were just starting to bloom on this date) and my few remaining tulips opened yesterday.

    I haven’t planted anything yet — I am still figuring out what I want to grow myself, given that we are doing the CSA this year. I do like to have bunching onions to pick on the spur of the moment.

  2. Peter Hoh says

    April 16, 2010 at 12:21 am

    The bulbs have been blooming early in St. Paul, too. I wish I had been keeping better records. This seems like a spring for surprises.

    Sunday, April 11, I swatted my first mosquito. And Monday, one of my lungworts started to bloom. That’s almost a month earlier than they were blooming in 2007.

    This time last year, my peonies were just starting to push out of the ground. This year, they are already 10 inches tall. Solomon’s Seal is also about 2 to 3 weeks ahead of last year’s schedule.

  3. Sylvana says

    April 16, 2010 at 11:01 am

    I don’t mind seeing the early bulbs, except that I do fear that they will not last very long because of the heat. Oh well, can’t control the weather – and I’m not about to start dumping ice in my garden 🙂

    Those fritillaria are my faves. I have some growing for years, but the garlic chives ate them 🙁
    I will have to try to get more this fall.

  4. Peter Hoh says

    April 16, 2010 at 5:01 pm

    I decided to take a more precise measurement of my peonies. They are 24 inches tall, with buds forming.

Trackbacks

  1. More than Six Months of Gardening in Minnesota? Yep. says:
    October 4, 2018 at 3:25 pm

    […] of snowfall and an early snow melt followed by very moderate spring temperatures put most gardens two weeks ahead of normal this spring. On the backside of the season, an extended Indian summer has lengthened […]

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