False springs are stressful, aren't they? The fact that my bulbs have seen a lot of crazy weather over the last six years in my Zone 5 garden is something I forget every March and April. So I'm leaving a reminder for future me and (and maybe current you) that your bulbs will be fine (probably?).
The galanthus, crocus, tulips, and daffodils all pulled through a freezing rain followed by a nighttime low of 0 degrees F in various stages of blooming.
Below: The spring garden on March 13, just before the storm.
I'm used to false springs and surprise cold snaps. My last frost date is mid-May. Last year the actual last frost was around May 1. Two seasons before that it got down to 23 degrees around May 25. Every year, starting in March but as early as January, we'll have a week in the 50s that is invariably followed by lows in the teens the next week. Variable weather is part of the garden culture here.
Below: More photos from mid-March
Despite this happening every year, this storm spooked me. We've been even warmer than usual, with the warm spell beginning in January and aside from a few outliers, carrying into spring. The early risers bloomed five weeks early. The lilacs, larix, and corkscrew hazel had green buds. The only bright spot of this storm was an estimated 7 inches of snow. As we northern gardeners know, nothing protects a garden like a warm blanket of snow.
Below: Galanthus, species tulips, hellebores, crocus, and other early risers. According to my phone these photos were taken on February 23, 2024. I don't usually expect to see these bulbs until the first week of April.
Then it rained.
And then it rained ice.
And as I'm sure gardeners from the upper east coast would say, no weather is more destructive to a garden than ice. That it was followed by zero degrees didn't make me feel better, either.
It's not necessarily the cold that will harm spring bulbs, especially when the ground is warm and/or they are covered in the snow. But ice? Foliage doesn't do well with ice.
All that said, I'm really delighted by what I see after the thaw. The tulips are battered but will bloom. The flower buds on the daffs look good. The crocus lost most of their flowers, but the foliage is completely fine, and they'll live to bloom another day.
Below: A bit tattered and blooms turning to mush, but all in all, a very good outcome.
A few perennials were beginning their growth cycle, and for the most part look good. The columbine, wild geranium, and all the sedum look fantastic. The hellebores look okay, but a little tattered. Unfortunately the dicentra was nipped to the ground. All in all not a bad outcome! As for the trees? We'll know in a few weeks.
Below: A few perennials after the storm.
So what might have happened if the cold snap came, without any snow for protection? I can't say for sure, but I expect that the herbaceous perennials wouldn't have fared well at all and likely none of the blooms would have survived. I also think that if everything hadn't been covered in a few millimeters of ice, damage would have been almost nil.
But it's not even April, and we'll surely have more surprises yet. But for now, I'll just enjoy some early blooms.
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