Question of the Week - February 2, 2012
Q. I’m starting to see leaves from my daffodils. Is there something I should do to protect them?
A. It’s hard to believe we’re almost halfway through winter. By now the ground is usually covered with at least a foot of snow and the sound of running water is almost non-existent. This year we have had unusually mild weather.
One dramatic response is the early emergence of spring-flowering bulbs. Many gardeners have noticed their bulbs have sent up a couple of inches of foliage. This is most common with bulbs such as tulips, daffodils and crocus. It’s a common occurrence during brief warming periods, especially when bulbs are planted in a warm, protected location next to a building. Usually snow eventually comes to cover the foliage and the foliage stops growing. Occasionally, if we get extreme cold before the foliage is covered by snow, the foliage will “burn” or turn yellow.
Most winters the flower buds remain protected inside the bulb underground. If we get an extended period of warm weather, flower buds can also emerge. If the flower buds are nipped by extreme cold, they may not bloom this spring, but the bulb underground will survive and come back to bloom next year.
There’s not much you can do to keep nature from taking its course. If we continue to have little or no snow cover you might want to cover your bulbs with 2 to 3 inches of mulch, after several successive days of cold temperatures. Once the soil is cold, mulch will help keep plants dormant. Mulching over plants when the weather is warm may actually encourage growth by further warming the soil.
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