Dayton "Dirt" - March 28, 2014

After the cold blast earlier this week things in the temperature department look to be on the upswing so that it’s a wild ride the next several days to set things up for sales as much of the stock is now just shoved in our movable roof structure in order to keep the extreme cold from damaging the plants root systems as they are above ground. Our perennials are mostly planted and seem to be growing well; however, the annual flowers are a little behind because of the delays from vendors of young plants and the winter being so dark before. Surprisingly, the flower bulbs planted last fall are starting to just pop through the ground and normally many would be in bloom by Easter on April 20th. Unless there is a consistent “extreme” warm up (hopefully not) it looks as though the blooming cycle of spring bulbs will be delayed at least one week. Pansies, Violas and Primrose are all available now and just love cool weather but of course not extreme cold such as the super cold nights we’ve encountered this past week. The new Proven Winner hydrangeas we have forced into bloom are growing nicely and should be ready for Easter to be enjoyed indoors and then planted outside when the danger of frost is done. Today it’s nice and a little rain I think would be in order. Hopefully the warmer temps will now give all of us some relief from the high natural gas heating bills and the dry air in our heated homes. Tom