WEBVTT - What Happens When Plants Bloom Early?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Bogebam Here, your sinuses aren't the only things confused

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<v Speaker 1>by unseasonably warm winters. Hello pollen. It's barely March, and

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<v Speaker 1>already many trees and shrubs are showing buds that shouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>be appearing until much closer to official sandal season. This

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<v Speaker 1>phenomenon leaves many people wondering what that means for their

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<v Speaker 1>plants and trees long term. In for example, Gibbs Gardens,

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<v Speaker 1>a botanical garden in Ballground, Georgia, opened three weeks earlier

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<v Speaker 1>than their normal schedule of March one, as millions of

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<v Speaker 1>their daffodils were already blooming in February. But is that

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<v Speaker 1>a bad thing? But we spoke with Gibbs Gardens horticulturist

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<v Speaker 1>Erica Glasner. She said, I think the plants will be fine,

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<v Speaker 1>But what it will do is if something else is

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<v Speaker 1>in full bud of for example, and azalea, if we

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<v Speaker 1>get a hard freeze, the buds or open blooms will

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<v Speaker 1>be frozen. And that is the real problem, not so

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<v Speaker 1>much that the weather turns warm early, but that it's

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<v Speaker 1>likely to grow cold again and suddenly. We also spoke

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<v Speaker 1>by email with London based horticulture and plants expert Gina Lorraine,

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<v Speaker 1>as she said, the buds of spring flowers and trees

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<v Speaker 1>have hardened periods that are consistent with slow and steady

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<v Speaker 1>weather changes. One abrupt temperature fall can thereafter do more

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<v Speaker 1>harm than a much colder period in winter that has

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<v Speaker 1>occurred in a gradual manner. Also, a lot depends on

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<v Speaker 1>whether the blooms are open or closed when a freeze hits.

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<v Speaker 1>Lorraine explained there's a difference between a plant having closed

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<v Speaker 1>blooms popping up and one that has already opened them.

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<v Speaker 1>The latter will suffer significantly greater losses because the cold

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<v Speaker 1>weather will almost certainly kill the unshielded petals. Since trees, shrubs,

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<v Speaker 1>and plants bloom on their individual clocks, the potential impact

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<v Speaker 1>is wide and varied. Lorraine said the amount of damage

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<v Speaker 1>done by the late frosts has to do with the

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<v Speaker 1>plant's chilling requirement. It's a minimum time period at a

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<v Speaker 1>particular temperature low. If the requirements are met, after the

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<v Speaker 1>time interval has passed, the plant will keep track of

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<v Speaker 1>temperatures and if it notices warming patterns, it will know

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<v Speaker 1>it's time to blossom. This process is called vernalization. It

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<v Speaker 1>basically tells the trees and shrubs when winter is over

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<v Speaker 1>according to the native climate. Furthermore, warm snaps can sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>wreak havoc on insects or other animals. A population of

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<v Speaker 1>Edith's checkerspot butterflies in the Sierra Nevada of California was

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<v Speaker 1>decimated after a series of false springs in The plants

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<v Speaker 1>had stopped blooming by the time the butterflies emerged and

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<v Speaker 1>had dried up when caterpillars were looking for food. There's

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<v Speaker 1>not much you can due to keep nature from taking

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<v Speaker 1>its course in these cases of second freezes. Covering up

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<v Speaker 1>plants to keep them warm during weather fluctuations can be

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<v Speaker 1>a good idea, but it must be done carefully. Use

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<v Speaker 1>frames or steaks to prevent the covering from catching the foliage.

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<v Speaker 1>Cover the ground around the plants as well, and avoid

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<v Speaker 1>removing any covers too soon. Plants are sensitive to sudden

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<v Speaker 1>temperature changes both ways, so you don't want them heating

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<v Speaker 1>up too fast, say in a bright morning sunlight after

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<v Speaker 1>a frost barring prolonged extreme winter weather. Any effect on

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<v Speaker 1>buds and blooms will likely be limited to the season

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<v Speaker 1>in question, with a bounce back in order for the

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<v Speaker 1>next spring. It pays to know which varieties do best

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<v Speaker 1>in your region, and Glassonare said native and naturalized plants

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<v Speaker 1>are better adapted to surviving periods of drought and cold

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<v Speaker 1>spells out of season. Just resist the urge to jump

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<v Speaker 1>the gun on spring planting, no matter how toasty the

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<v Speaker 1>temperatures in your area, Glasser said, just because they have

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<v Speaker 1>stuff in the garden center, you do not want to

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<v Speaker 1>plant until the soil temperatures have warmed up. Check with

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<v Speaker 1>your local cooperative extension, a small business gardening shop, or

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<v Speaker 1>search for advice by zip code to determine when to

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<v Speaker 1>start your planting. Even if flowering trees and shrubs do

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<v Speaker 1>take a hit, you don't have to fret that all

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<v Speaker 1>that greenery will be lost. Lorraine said. Trees and shrubs

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<v Speaker 1>have more than one batch of leaf buds, whereas they

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<v Speaker 1>produce only one set of flower buds. If the flowers

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<v Speaker 1>end up scalded by the unpredictable frost, they won't appear

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<v Speaker 1>again the same year. Green foliage, on the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>will the plants will simply reach out their reserves. This

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<v Speaker 1>may be so because leaves are essential for the plants survival.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Leahoyt and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other growing topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit has Stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production

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