My plants are confused...some are budding already!!!

[Poink88]

With the crazy weather we are having, some of my plants seem confused...some are budding already. Can't blame them, after a few cold fronts, we are again back to mid & high 80's with lows of mid 60's. It has been like these with just a few days dipping to mid-40's and it is December!

The trops are loving it, but my deciduous might end up getting damaged buds/growth before spring.

 

[Brian Underwood]

It happens, and quite frequently here in Sonoma County. If they are not protected from frost, all the new growth will be killed and dieback is imminent.

 

[DesertPanda]

I can understand where you are coming from on this, the same thing is happening here also though we are only in the mid 70s. I am monitoring the weather and going to start moving my decidious into my unheated shop. The tropicals get some outside time during the day but are inside at night.

 

[fore]

Good point Dario. I too am concerned, 58 yesterday, and it's 60 right now, and supp. to be 65 tomorrow. Unbelievable for December in Chicago.

 

[rockm]

Welcome the world of overwintering .

This isn't a small problem...

You plants aren't confused. They're showing they have completed their cold cycle requirements. Each species has a genetically-coded time they have to remain dormant for the winter. Dormancy is broken BY SOIL TEMPERATURE. The warmer the soil, the faster they will grow. Cool the soil down and they will slow down or stop until the soil gets warmer.

The good news is that as long as the buds are tight (even if they're elongating and showing green) they're not vulenerable to freezing or frost. Buds can take a long time to burst, but the warmer the temps, the faster they move.

The bad news is that temperate zone trees lose almost all of their cold hardiness at the roots after buds have burst and leaves have begun. Once buds have burst (showing discernable lead edges) a hard freeze that freezes the entire root mass after bud burst will kill many, if not, most species. You can also lose significant branching or big sections of trunks. This is highly species-related, some are more tolerant of the ups and downs of winter than others. You might consult with local bonsaiists about what species can do what...

Best thing to do is get them into a shady place and preferably sink them into the ground--the ground acts as a giant buffer and it takes a lot longer for it to warm up than a pot full of soil. The colder the better. You might even think of icing them down...

If you can't stop them from pushing and you get leaves, you will have to find a frost free environment to get them through the winter.

Keep your fingers crossed and pray for colder weather.

 

[AboveBeyond]

Good point Dario. I too am concerned, 58 yesterday, and it's 60 right now, and supp. to be 65 tomorrow. Unbelievable for December in Chicago.

It's forecasted to be in the low 50s here in Boston for the next 4 days!

 

[jkd2572]

Yeah it's 80 degrees today. Sitting on the back porch in shorts a t shirt. We have not had a freeze yet, which means the leaves on landscape trees won't all come down at once. Constant showers of leaves come down with every breeze but I want all of them to come down at once. Constant cleanup of tons of leaves. my house is surrounded by 60 feet tall oaks. While awesome in the summer, it's horrible in the fall/ winter until we get a freeze.

 

[rockm]

FWIW, a string of 50-70 degree days in the early winter isn't a disaster for most of us that live in colder areas. IF you've got your trees under mulch in a cold area of the yard, or in an unheated structure, that kind of short time warm up isn't a problem.

The soil has to reliable remain above 40 or so for most trees to begin pushing buds. Those buds can take a few weeks to burst into leaves. This is nature's "fail safe" for trees in the spring. Warmish spells may warm the air, but they have to last significantly longer than a few days to warm the ground enough for root activity. Additionally, the further north you go, the longer the genetically encoded cold requirements are for native species. That means they are "preprogrammed" to remain dormant for longer.

All bets are off however, for non-natives like tridents, japanese maples, etc.

Adequate overwintering shelters not only keep colder temperatures out, they shoulds also keep warmer temps out too until winter has passed.

 

[Poink88]

We are at 83*F today with lows of 66*F. It is like that almost the entire time w/ about only 10 days dipping to lows of 40's.

A trident group planting (I intend to separate later) that I bought online (from Michigan) on October came ready to drop most of it's leaves...now, some buds sprouted already though most are still dormant.

Sprout was probably due to the trimming it got as well.

 

[Dav4]

Yeah it's 80 degrees today. Sitting on the back porch in shorts a t shirt. We have not had a freeze yet, which means the leaves on landscape trees won't all come down at once. Constant showers of leaves come down with every breeze but I want all of them to come down at once. Constant cleanup of tons of leaves. my house is surrounded by 60 feet tall oaks. While awesome in the summer, it's horrible in the fall/ winter until we get a freeze.

Dude, no sympathy here...heavily wooded lot with many oaks, maples, poplars, etc.,...I've been raking leaves for TWO MONTHS...


ps... all my deciduous trees are on the ground now so the pots stay cool...70's for next few days.

 

[Poink88]

Here is Austin weather for the week....

Really nice & almost perfect but the plants might get shocked when the cold finally arrives.

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