Dayton "Dirt" - February 27, 2015

Is there any relief from this bitter cold!  The days are not quite noticeably longer with the vernal equinox only about 3 weeks away and yet the month of February may end up being the coldest since 1875 surpassing the cold February’s of 1984 and 1978.  Only in 2011, moist weather streamed into Ohio from the Gulf of Mexico which resulted in one of the wettest years in memory.  The jet stream’s direction certainly does dictate the weather patterns everywhere so that now there is drought in California and most of the west, abnormally warm temperatures in Alaska and record cold over the eastern half of North America.

 Even so, spring is not far off and the nursery will indeed open sometime next week.  Except for in the production area, the greenhouse adjacent the store are empty and only will begin filling up during the last week of March with the Advent of Easter on April 5th.  Perennial plugs (small plants) were due to arrive this past week but were delayed due to the abnormally cold weather.  So too were a shipment of hydrangeas to grow on for Easter and Calla lillies along with small gerbera daisies.  Next week too is the arrival of roses to be potted and to be placed under heat with just enough warmth in order to keep the plants above 28º F to foster root growth.  All of the delays plus the scheduled shipments to plant are unfortunately going to create a log jam that will have to overcome one way or another.

All the “behind the scenes” work is a challenge almost every late winter and early spring.  For gardeners, or anyone having to do with agriculture, the weather does truly dictates the tune.

Tom