Oh, boy, are we off to a slow start this growing season. This Spring has been crazy!! It has been really hard on our roses because of the rising and falling temperatures.

I am still not quite finished pruning, and in many cases, I have pruned right down to the ground. I began my watering program last week because although we were depressingly overcast all week, there was no rainfall except for a few showers…just enough to encourage cold fungus growth. I’ve noticed a lot of late canker this year, which is usually gone by now. We have been short on sunshine, so all the new growth on the roses is cold-weather-shade-growth. When the warm weather finally arrives, my plants are going to wilt from the heat of the sun. I won’t be surprised if they experience some leaf-burn, as well.

In short, Spring has been mighty stingy on good weather this year!!

The Garden

The trees are having trouble leafing out this year because we had no snowcover at all this past winter. It takes hundreds of gallons of water for a big old tree to produce leaves, so I guess I am very thankful for the rain which began in earnest yesterday. It is supposed to continue all week, so by the end of this storm system maybe there will be enough groundwater for these forest creatures to make their green canopy. My weeping cherry tree is usually completely covered with pink blooms by mid-April, but there was no bloom for her this year because all the flower buds burned off back in February when our mild winter temperatures dumped to 12 degrees below zero on Valentine’s Day weekend.

My PJM rhodedendrons have always been a reliable source of bright spring color, but not this year. Most of their buds burned off, too. I just read an article in the newspaper this morning that the flower buds on the peach trees in Connecticut’s orchards are a complete loss this year because of the same weather event. It looks like the pears and apples will be okay, as long as we don’t have another freeze. We are stuck with overnight temps in the 40’s.

All we can do is to hang in there and wait for a change. It does get really frustrating, though…and I know I am not the only one who feels this way. Thank you for letting your rosarian rant. And here’s hoping for a warming up for next week!