Mid-Winter bloom in Missouri

Ernie DeMarie via pbs pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
Mon, 26 Jan 2015 08:10:32 PST

Hi Jim and other PBSers out there,
Well although I had a lone snowdrop in flower before today, winter is having a real go at us today.  A possibly "historic" blizzard is moving in, already we have light snow preceding its arrival and its beginning to stick to the roads.  School is closed today and, I am sure, tomorrow when it will be impossible to travel.  The bright side is that it will provide very good insulation for anything underneath in the garden, which will be a good thing since we expect lows in the single digits early next week, if not earlier.  I think it will be at least a couple of weeks if not more before this kind of snowfall will melt.  
Meanwhile inside things give one hope during these dull winter days, the garage is full of oxalis spp and some S African bulbs in flower, among them the too cute for words Lapeirousia oreogena and L.  montana.  A pink form of Pelargonium incrassatum has been flowering for a bit, earlier than others to follow, and some babianas and gladioli are also in flower.  I also have started lots of bulb and pelargonium seeds among others, and am particularly pleased with how many of them are faring under some new T5 lights I have brought recently.  
Although we have generally been lucky here with power outages (only one day during Sandy when nearby areas were without power for over a week) I am glad we brought a portable generator month and yesterday I got the five gallon gas container and got it filled just in case.  
It looks like its going to be a while before I see a narcissus in bloom, other than a couple under the lights, usually the earliest I have (in my school garden) is Rijnveld's Early Sensation, its bloomed as early as late January but I think it will be more like late February this year. 
Ernie DeMarie in soon to be snow covered Briarcliff Manor NY
Z7 (barely)
 
 


 



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