Here in SE Michigan it is below freezing again after a day of rain and 50F. Crocus laevigatus is still blooming in my cold frame since last November and Crocus imperati that was purchased as C. corsicus are beginning to bloom in full force. Also a C. korolkowii is showing color. This "cold frame" or bulb frame is protected by 4mil paint drop cloth that is propped open to allow the cold and moisture to equilibrate with the weather Rimmer in SE Michigan Zone 5 but this winter it has not beem below 15F so far On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 1:24 PM, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>wrote: > This probably ought to be "What's not blooming this week." Early > January is usually snowdrop (Galanthus) time in the Pacific > Northwest, but at our NARGS chapter meeting last night several bulb > enthusoiasts reported that the snowdrops are barely breaking ground. > This I found a relief, since the same is true in my new garden, where > I'm still waiting to see if the plants that used to grow well in the > old garden will continue here. > > We thought that the unusually dry fall weather (part of the same > pattern Mary Sue Ittner reported on the northern California coast) > might have something to do with it, since few of us irrigate the > garden after September. > > I haven't been out to the old garden in more than a month (the house > and acres are still on the market, held down by a caretaking couple), > so I don't know what's happening there, but since today it's probably > under a foot of snow, I think I'll wait a week. Here in the banana > belt we had a couple of inches of snow last night but it's melting > fast this morning. > > In my bulb house Narcissus cantabricus and N. romieuxii forms are in > full bloom, along with a few little Colchicum species and the first > winter crocus, C. michelsonii (a beautiful flower). By this time, > though, I'd expect to see some more early bloomers, particularly Iris > stenophylla and perhaps some of the reticulata iris species, but > these have emerged just a centimeter or so above the gravel mulch. > The raised beds that have replaced the hundreds of clay pots are full > of incipient foliage and buds, though, and it will be interesting to > see how the bulbs have responded to their second growing season in freedom. > > Jane McGary > Portland, Oregon, USA > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >