Gardeners all over the Eastern United States have been tweeting, blogging, e-mailing and gabbing about the — until recently — warmer than normal winter.
Hoosier gardeners were not immune. Temperatures hovering in the 40s coaxed spring bulbs from the ground early and encouraged leaf buds to fatten up. Some perennials also started to sprout new growth.
'Cinnamon Snow' hellebore has been blooming since late December. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
The dilemma is always what to do when cold weather returns. Should the early emerging plants be protected from normal winter temperatures? Fortunately, the answer is almost always no.
Adding mulch, such as leaves, wood chips or shredded bark, can actually heat up the soil, causing spring bulbs and perennials to grow faster.
Cold temperatures might damage some new growth, but for bulbs, the flowers are still inside and likely unharmed.
The flowering parts of perennials also are still protected, but the leaves might show some damage when spring growth begins. Some shrubs may show weather damage when they leaf out in spring, but they will likely grow new replacement leaves.
Some perennials are programmed to bloom now. Winter blooming hellebores (Helleborus nigra, H. x ballardiae, H. foetidus) have leathery hand- or claw-shaped evergreen leaves. They bloom from December into February. The flowers last for months, frequently changing color as they age.
‘Cinnamon Snow’, the earliest blooming hellebore I have, is one of the Gold Collection series from Skagit Gardens, which sent me the plant to trial a couple of years ago. It is a welcome beauty.
Also blooming are the yellow, white and blue Cool Wave pansies, sent by Ball Horticulture last fall for me to test. These new additions to the series that includes Wave petunias should be available at garden centers this spring. Mine are growing in a couple of containers placed where I can see them blooming, even under snow. Very cool, indeed.