Winter? What Winter?

[coh]

12" of snow so far, now we switch to lake effect for the next 24 hours or so. Should get at least a few more inches out of that.
10 F outside, but heading down. Time to hibernate!

 

[tmjudd1]

Winter arrived, here in Dallas. It was 26 degrees when I woke up. It took a whole eight hours of daylight for the thermometer to 'FINALLY' get back up to 50 degrees. "whew!" I'm so glad. That was a long, harsh winter! "I thought it would 'never' end!"
My trees have been putting on growth, non-stop, since November. Never really slowed down. I was waiting for spring to arrive so I could perform a thread-graft on a Chinese Elm, but my grafting material is now budding and starting to sprout leaves at the apex. Winter? "Really?" I'm thinking about going to spring feedings and also performing that graft, 'NOW'!

 

[Underdog]

Got enough snow to cover everything. -4f tonight. The more tender stuff is buried against the foundation or an unheated crawl space. Oh and -20C for Allen

 

[Wilson]

Had a good workout trying to get my vehicles out of all this white stuff! Weird weather this year -25°c, but tons of snowfall. Normally when it's really cold we don't get snow.

 

[Dav4]

Had a good workout trying to get my vehicles out of all this white stuff! Weird weather this year -25°c, but tons of snowfall. Normally when it's really cold we don't get snow.View attachment 224091

Do NOT miss doing THAT!! Have fun... I think...

 

[Wilson]

Do NOT miss doing THAT!! Have fun... I think...

I hear ya! My lady is from the Okanagan valley in BC, she can't stand how long the winters are here. Maybe one day we will find ourselves back out west.

 

[BackyardBonsai]

It was freezing this morning but by the afternoon the temp bounce back to almost 60. Got soils and pots ready for repot season.

 

[M. Frary]

Minus 15F now.

 

[JudyB]

MMM, only -6 here. but sunny! Crazy though, we are supposed to have rain on Weds?

 

[JoeH]

39 here this am. Bet there are a lot of irate tourists about now down here.

 

[Joe Dupre']

We have a saying down here. "We had a short winter this year. It was on a Tuesday................... in the morning."

Not really too far from the truth most years. I've seen snow on the ground here maybe 7 or 8 times in my 64 years.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Well winter finally arrived here last night—temp bottomed out at 11.8F. Looks like we’ll be back in the 20s at night for a while after this.

 

[janaiya]

I think anything below 70 degrees is cold, so if it's 20 or 20 below, it all sucks. I really need to move........

come to S Florida and none of that kind of freezing cold ever happens here, maybe 1 or 2 days really cold in Feb/March, now really cold for me is probably still warm in the North. Yesterday night we made it to 48 F that's like 8.8 C, that was cold for me.
My 2 BRT's are holding up good so far outside, up into the sun in the morning and afternoon and their smile is back. Love them

 

[rockm]

Ya know, when I see the taunts from the folks in La., Fla. and points south that don't get winter, pitying us more northerly people because of cold, I have to shake my head.

Those folks may have never known the sweetness of spring as it starts to creep up from the cold-- the true joy that is late March and April as trees begin to really get going. The ticking of the leaves on the ground in a hardwood forest as the first snow flakes fall. An owl hunting mice in the snow....A sudden snow squall against the blue ridge as the sunshine cuts through it...They also miss the most spectacular season of all for a lot of people--autumn. A REAL autumn, with deep red, orange, yellow October that brings an edge to the air and first frost.

I've lived in areas with no winter, understand its appeal, but have found I ain't and never will be a "snow bird." Used to believe Jimmy Buffet's nonsense about tropical paradise, only to see it was just a marketing scam for his brand and restaurants...

You know what they say--"too much sunshine makes a desert."

 

[Cajunrider]

Ya know, when I see the taunts from the folks in La., Fla. and points south that don't get winter, pitying us more northerly people because of cold, I have to shake my head.

Those folks may have never known the sweetness of spring as it starts to creep up from the cold-- the true joy that is late March and April as trees begin to really get going. The ticking of the leaves on the ground in a hardwood forest as the first snow flakes fall. An owl hunting mice in the snow....A sudden snow squall against the blue ridge as the sunshine cuts through it...They also miss the most spectacular season of all for a lot of people--autumn. A REAL autumn, with deep red, orange, yellow October that brings an edge to the air and first frost.

I've lived in areas with no winter, understand its appeal, but have found I ain't and never will be a "snow bird." Used to believe Jimmy Buffet's nonsense about tropical paradise, only to see it was just a marketing scam for his brand and restaurants...

You know what they say--"too much sunshine makes a desert."

I lived up north for a couple decades. I understand the appeal. I loved the spring and fall up there. It's the winter that gets me and it got worse and worse as I grow older so I moved south.
I don't get the weather taunts. I will never be a part of that. Every place has its own charm.

 

[rockm]

I lived up north for a couple decades. I understand the appeal. I loved the spring and fall up there. It's the winter that gets me and it got worse and worse as I grow older so I moved south.
I don't get the weather taunts. I will never be a part of that. Every place has its own charm.

I've lived all over the U.S., from the Pacific NW, the desert SW, Southeast and East Texas, New England and the mid-Atlantic. Each and every place has been special in its own way. America is a huge place full of spectacular places. To think any one is superior is silly.

 

[Joe Dupre']

".........the sweetness of spring as it starts to creep up from the cold ........." 'bout the same as taking off a pair of too-tight shoes after a hard day at work. It's probably more accurately called " relief" than "pleasure".

We get just enough cold, rainy weather here to make spring a real treat. I'll grant you the autumn here is rather nondescript. It's two months of slowly yellowing leaves, with maybe a few red/orange splashes here and there. I find it a good trade-off to not have to deal with a couple of feet of slush and snow, though.

 

[Fonz]

First snow arrived today...

 

[rockm]

".........the sweetness of spring as it starts to creep up from the cold ........." 'bout the same as taking off a pair of too-tight shoes after a hard day at work. It's probably more accurately called " relief" than "pleasure".

We get just enough cold, rainy weather here to make spring a real treat. I'll grant you the autumn here is rather nondescript. It's two months of slowly yellowing leaves, with maybe a few red/orange splashes here and there. I find it a good trade-off to not have to deal with a couple of feet of slush and snow, though.

Not relief. It's something different. Anticipation is a better word. Spring is simply a change from winter, just as fall is for summer.

FWIW, I happen to love winter and probably always will. I used to be a ski instructor and have fallen down slopes all over the U.S. Winter--even with its extremes--has its own charms. Endless summer is monotonous and is getting more and more uncomfortable as temps climb higher for longer. Winter is becoming something of an endangered thing. The last few winters here have been not much and kind of tepid--only to be broken for short spells of extremes...

 

[SU2]

Yes

[that^ was to my Q re whether you'd gotten any bud-break on already-collected, established specimen]

What species and how's it going? Would love to hear any & all elaboration! I'm in FL and can't stop noticing how mild / non-existent this 'winter' is, however my crapes are way further into dormancy than they got last year (crapes and bc's are my only yard-sticks as ficus&bougies don't lose leaves in my garden) My BC's from last year are both still sporting the tiniest bit of green on the tips of their strongest / highest shoots! I was going to wait til Feb but have already done a BC trip as this is just such mild weather!

Thanks for any elaboration on what's happening there w/ prematurely-opening buds, specifically their character & growth rate IE are they coming-in with any of the ferocity that you'd see in shoots on something that'd just been trunk-chopped or are they significantly slower-developing? Going to be checking all my dormant stuff to see if I can find any activity ;D