On 8/17/2014 11:18 AM, Higgs Boson wrote:

Curious whether other experienced home gardeners are observing same
phenomenon:

Last year or two -- most notable this year -- things are not happened
when they're 'posed to. Have not collected exact data, alas, with
20-20 hindsight. But generally plants bloom and bear later (I
think!!!) than usual per "normal" observations over decades.

First impulse is to blame it on global warming, and maybe that's
exactly where blame should fall. Just wanting to collect more data
in different zones as well as mine -- So.Calif.coastal
(Mediterranean).

I have noticed that flowering shrubs and trees are blooming EARLIER than
normal. Also, many deciduous trees are failing to leaf out normally.
My peach tree had only two peaches.

We had a much warmer than usual winter. In the 13 winters from
2000-2001 through 2012-2013, my area had an annual average of 366 hours
of temperatures at or below 45F from 1 November through 31 March. This
past winter, we had only 127 hours, less than half the average. This
was less than the relatively warm winter of 2002-2003, when we had 153
hours.

You likely had even less chill than I since you live closer to the ocean
while the Santa Monica Mountains separate me from the moderating effect
of the ocean.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary