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Mild Winter- Really worried
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Posted by valtorrez St.Louis (My Page) on Sat, Jan 28, 12 at 11:18
| This winter has been really mild with it raining a lot and minimal snow. I hope this is not a predictor of a long, hot, rain-free summer like we had last summer. I watered and watered and it did no good for my babies. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Mild Winter- Really worried
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| hey val .. i dont see the correlation between a lot of winter moisture.. and summer drought ... does one exclude the other ...??? as for summer... perhaps.. you started watering after the unseen damage was already set.. i suggest you start a program earlier.. and stay on top of it ... right thru drought ... extreme dryness can lead to summer dormancy ... and once the trigger is set ... i dont think it can be stopped ... and i am thinking.. that maybe it was very slightly triggered.. by the time you started watering enough to offset the drought.. and dont forget.. that PROPER watering includes enough of a soaking to get thru the whole root mass ... not just a little surface moisture .... and we can not tell you how long or how much water.. since we cant see/feel your soil ... insert finger.. or dig small holes.. to find out how the water you apply ... works its way thru your soil ... who knows.. its a mystery left to the vagaries of mother nature .. ken |
RE: Mild Winter- Really worried
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| Not worried about the hostas because we had mild winters before. Right now,my Daffodils are up about 6 inches with this years buds already,and we are nowhere near the end of winter! Still no hostas showing anywhere,but I do have to keep an eye out for montana Aureomarginata,which always comes up early,but usually at the end of February. Phil |
RE: Mild Winter- Really worried
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Independent of hostas I love this weather. Yesterday we had a heavy rain storm at 48 dgrs here in zone 5. This is much better than a blizzard at -20 dgrs F and 2 ft of snow! I give up a hosta for having present weather anytime. But the replacement seedlings are already growing in my basement having sun all day and night. I can see streaking on some leaves, have always same warm weather in my basement.
Bernd |
RE: Mild Winter- Really worried
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| It's even a mild winter here. Some of my hostas have little tiny green leaves in the center. I saw a daffodil blooming yesterday when I walked the dog, without a coat, I might add. It's supposed to be another dry year. There's a la Nina in the pacific. Even though we have plenty of water (I live in Dallas), they put us on stage 1 water restrictions. We're being politically correct as the suburbs don't have any water. They are restricted to twice a month. (Dallas has invested heavily in man-made lakes over the last 50 years.) That means I can only water on Wednesday and Sunday. When it hits 100 degrees, I'm not sure twice a week is enough for my hosta. It's certainly not enough for hanging baskets and bedding plants. It's enough for the trees and lawns, though. bkay |
RE: Mild Winter- Really worried
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| bkay, Since your Hosta are all in pots, you might want to consider using those crystals that you mix in the soil. They absorb water and release it slowly. That might get you by when you can only water twice a week. The other option you could consider is self-watering pots that have a reservoir of water. They need to be watered less often. Steve |
RE: Mild Winter- Really worried
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| Thanks Steve, I had forgotten about those crystals. I need to repot lots of plants this spring anyway. bkay |
RE: Mild Winter- Really worried
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It seems we missed valtorrez's point a bit. I wonder if his comment on a wet winter is founded on a higher % of rain vs. snow than normal: not higher precipitation than normal. How did total prec. compare to the past 5 years in St. Louis? I don't know.
Considering the USDA has revised its zones to comp for global warming trends maybe we need to keep up with this in how we protect our hosta. We are rapidly losing what I think of is our reserve ice-cap; the polar ice that remains after esch summer. You can refer to the ecologists concern for the polar bears endangerment as an example. The loss of this ice mass has a huge influence on solar and oceanic currents which dictate our weather.
Consider it like making a martini over 6 cubes or a bag of ice. The rate the ice melts won't come in linear progressions. We could be experiencing major changes re: where we have hosta planted, etc. in as few as 5 years.
I am not being a pessimist. I am just saying that I see where valtorrez might have justification for being concerned. I think we brushed his concern aside too quickly without giving it much thought. Les |
RE: Mild Winter- Really worried
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| To Be honest, I was not focused on precipitation just being superstituous that a mild winter could be forshadowing a long, hot spring/summer in which my hostas don't do well due to not meeting their water needs. I could water for days and it still was so hot that I felt like I was doing nothing for all my plants. |
RE: Mild Winter- Really worried
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| Valtorrez, I am just a few hours north of you. Last year during the heatwave I watered very heavily almost everyday. I also have maple trees so I normally water heavy anyways but last summer the water bill shot through the roof. I never let the soil dry out. My hostas made it through the heatwave without having any damage to them but the following month after the heat let up they all started pooping out on me. Go figure. |
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