judith lea writes

DavePoole Torquay wrote:

Yes, some are already open here as are one or two clumps of snowdrops
and a few crocus. I was looking at a very large, old Magnolia stellata
last week and its flower buds were swelling fast - far too quickly for
this early in the year. Yesterday, as I was driving home along the
sea-front I noticed several Echiums starting their upwards surge
towards flowering. All good stuff until I remember that in recent
years, February has proved to be the cruellest month ... even here.

Here, in the Auvergne in France, up in the Foret National Livrados, my
daffodils are only just through the soil. The bluebells are also just
through. No crocus yet neither can I see any snowdrops at all which is
very strange. However, the converse is that several shrubs are in bud.
I cannot understand why the bulbs and the shrubs are at odds with the
weather, surely if the bulbs are behind then it should follow that the
shrubs should not be early?????

No - different plants are triggered by different things. One might be
triggered by cold weather (so that if it starts growth after a period of
cold, it's ready to flower in the spring), another by increasing warmth,
another may be triggered by heavier rainfall, another by light levels.

This means that a warm wet December might accelerate growth in some
plants, while delaying growth in those which are still waiting for the
winter cold.
--
Kay