The past week has been cooler then the previous one. We’ve had warm days in the 50s and cooler days in the 40s. Regardless of the temperatures, area spring bulbs have still been growing quite fast. There has not been a change in what has bloomed, but Daffodils are now up about 4″ as seen above.  Flower buds are showing on both Daffodils are Hyacinths. When I took a look at trees and shrubs for the post part all are dormant, but Silver Maple is showing signs of starting to break flower buds. A week or so of 50s would certainly burst things farther along into bloom.

The Snowdrops have been looking quite nice in the past few days. They are in full bloom. On sunny days the little flowers open wide against the sun. We had a few nights in the lower 20s, and even nearly 2″ of snow on Saturday night last weekend, but neither of that harmed them, because they naturally bloom so early they have natural defenses against cold. I will have another growth update in the coming days/weeks as things progress.

Too early for Pansies!

I have seen gardens centers around the Des Moines area put pansies out for sale. So it has many people likely wondering, Is it too early for Pansies? The answer is yes! While true pansies can tolerate cool temperatures current night lows are still dipping well into the 20s at night which is too cold for Pansies and can make them limp and damaged. It is my suggestion not to be too temped by the cheery blossoms and wait until night lows are at least 35.F or warmer. Normally that is April 1st or later. For good early color, consider spring bulbs as seen above in the fall or any spring bulbs for sale now, which are sold in pots forced over the winter, those can be planted outside now.