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Winter sowing jugs in the bright mid-Feb sunshine of 2024

 
Over the last three years, we've seen progressively warmer winters. Fewer weeks of snow cover. Sure, we've had the dips into really cold weather, but nothing surprising. Climate change in action. Last winter we saw more sun during the winter than we did during the summer. It was strange because it also came with very little snow cover. That can be really hard on plants which rely on that snow for insulation.

 

Our holding bed for shrubs and perennials that were either divided or propagated from cuttings, heeled into a deep bed of mulch last winter

In our propagation holding bed, I often build up a thick layer of mulch to try to help insulate the plants that are being overwintered in pots. More than anything else it helps moderate the temperatures so that the wild swings from a sunny day to a bone-cold night are less damaging to the small rooted cuttings.

 

Two years ago, we had a decent amount of snow cover in February, but then we had the driest spring after that. Here the winter-sowing jugs are covered in a light blanket of snow.

This year has been very interesting. We have had nearly continuous grey skies. Thanks to this app that lets me look at how much power my solar panels are making each day, I have a very good idea of which days the sun came out. Last month, the sun came out for more than 3 hours on 6 occasions. Usually January is a pretty bright month. Not this year. As a result, when we get snow, it is sticking around. We haven't really been dumped on like in years past. Nothing worth calling someone to help us plow our driveway. 

Winter sowing jugs outside, with very little snow cover this year

The wind has been incredible the last few days. Whatever snow has come down, has blown into the next northern county by the time the storm abates.

So why does any of this matter? Lots of reasons. Trees and shrubs are surprisingly susceptible to these wild swings in temperature. In a few instances over the last few years, we have seen mature trees break dormancy during lengthy warm weather in February only to be shocked hard by March weather taking a nose dive.

I am curious to see if plants fare better this year, despite the multiple times we have gone from the teens down to near zero (or lower!)... mostly because the cold has been more consistent. It wont become really apparent until mid-March or even into April, when everything starts to bud out. One thing I am very curious to see is how the Louisiana irises have fared. We planted them deeply into rough compost last fall, knowing that they need a decent depth of mulch to avoid drying out during the winter. I always assumed they were cold intolerant, but I am slowly starting to understand that it is the drying out that can be fatal. We'll see if this deep mulch make a difference in their survivability.

As I watch southern gardeners talking about plants coming up... some already in bloom... I have to remind myself that we have a few more months of winter ahead. This coming week we're dropping back down into the single digits. For seeds that need that winter stratification, this is a good thing. For our heating bill, it is another matter.