Weather, Seasons, and Other Unknowns
It’s officially Spring! AND it’s snowing. What?!?
The calendar shows the “First Day of Spring” somewhere around the 20th or 21st of March. Most calendars no longer say “Spring Equinox” which is far more accurate. As it sounds, the word “equinox” refers to the equal day/night cycle in Spring and Fall due to the earth’s tilt and its position in space, nothing else. The season of Spring arrives when it gets here, regardless of the date on the calendar.
As a Central Arizona native, I can tell you Spring has arrived in early March on occasion and late in May on others. Sure, there might be a few spring flowers early, but we almost always get another frost. Apricots? Maybe every seven to ten years. Experienced gardeners in the area will tell you, “Don’t plant those tomatoes until at least Mother’s Day!” Some recommend Memorial Day because they remember the years we’ve had snow on Mother’s Day.
A couple years ago, I took a video of myself in what appeared to be a blizzard here on May 21st. In the mid-1980s we had a surprise frost on July 4th weekend. Predicting the weather is a lot like herding cats or nailing Jello to a tree.
The seasons arrive whenever the universe decides it’s time. Just ask someone standing on a downtown sidewalk in May when it’s 98 degrees and the midday sun is searing the earth if they think summer has arrived yet. The situation is even more dramatic the further south you travel and drop in elevation. Years ago, we planted tomatoes in Tucson in February with great success. That won’t always work, by the way.
Much of gardening here is gambling. Some of us have spent a fair amount of time and money on our gambling problem! Oh yes, the Big Box stores know this. The first couple of warm days in March and out come the flowers and veggie starts. Many are disappointed when they must replace them once or twice before Spring arrives for good. But the gamblers snicker when they win the hand occasionally.
Ba-deep, ba-deep, ba-deep goes the register without so much as a comment or question from the cashier. Maybe they end the conversation with a nicety like, “Enjoy your flowers!” This is one of the big differences between shopping at a Big Box and shopping at an independent nursery. At least the nursery staff are likely to remind you to cover the tender plants when the next frost comes. They might even suggest you move your pre-planted flower bowls and pots into the garage when the temperature will be below 35 degrees in your area. Hopefully, they don’t even have the tender plants out for sale yet, but you know how business works.
As with many things related to horticulture, there are exceptions. Some species tolerate more cold but not heat and vice versa. Certain vegetables must be grown in early Spring or late Fall because they don’t tolerate heat, others suffer from frost damage if planted too early, and still others require specific soil temperatures to germinate from seed.
UGH! So much to know! Not really. You might just need The Horticoach.
In another blog, we will take a closer look at climate and hardiness.
SEE YOU IN THE NURSERY!
thehorticoach.com