Hello! I just started gardening last summer, and I planted Daffodil bulbs for the first time ever this fall. I am a little concerned because I was out in my garden yesterday and noticed some little green shoots coming up from the daffodils already. It seems really early to me, but I have no idea if this is normal or not. I am a little concerned because I know neighborhood cats in the past have used my mulched areas as a litter box, and I'm concerned they may have dug some of the bulbs up too close to the surface. It's only early January, and if they are only an inch or so below the surface I'm afraid they will get damaged by the cold and not bloom. On the other hand, I have no idea if they are supposed to be showing this growth or not yet, and if I push them back down, I fear I may be messing up their natural cycle, and I will stunt their growth. I've read my instructions again, and my Sunset Western Garden Book, but I can't find anything specific enough, and wanted to ask for help. Oh, and I live in Portland, Oregon, in zone 8.
We have had daffodils flowering in the first month of our winter below the equator. It has been happening for several years. In our case it was the end of June. Violets were coming out in late autumn??????? Think it's part of the global warming. We had 4o C today. Still stitting on about 37 at nearly 8'oclock. Liz
Even in my climate, some Narcissus varieties put 1-2" inches of growth on before December. The foliage is rarely damaged by the winter cold and what does get damaged, quickly grows out in the spring. In your climate, I would say it's normal, especially if Daffodils in your area flower in February. Simon
Interesting observation Liz. And you may well be right. The interesting thing is in the central portion of the United States many states and cities appear to be the opposite. We're having as cold a winter as we've had in quite some years. The central and eastern portion of Oklahoma has had major freezes with enormous fluctuations in the temperature from both extreme cold (as low as 8 degrees F ,-13.3 C) and January temperatures as high as 70 F (21 C). The temperature was extremely cold last week and very warm over the weekend. But tonight we're going down to the very low extreme again. Areas of California have had up to 10 feet (3 plus meters) of snow in just hours. But just last night one of our local weather predictors commented the winter temperature average for our state was quite normal, so I don't know and certainly don't understand. Still, temperatures just 3 hours away are substantially warmer than here! That particular forecaster was recently chastised by some at the meteorological accreditation board because he openly used historical information which disagreed with the predictions and claims of global warming advocates in his daily forecasts. So not all scientifically trained folks have the same opinion on what is happening. It appears the warm and cold is almost "regional" rather than global. Very strange indeed since I have several friends in Australia who have commented about your weather down there. Just this morning a national news show said the United States is experiencing a severe winter in the west and early spring in the east. Nothing appears to be consistent. Famed University of Colorado hurricane researcher Dr. William Gray, one of the United States' best known weather experts, seems to quite loudly doubt global warming, at least as we hear it explained on the news casts and the Science Channel. Dr. Gray makes the annual predictions for the expected number of hurricanes in our hemisphere, often with great accuracy. He appears to believe these problems are caused by Thermohaline Circulation and major changes in ocean salinity. Here are two opposing points of view: http://www.denverpost.com/harsanyi/ci_3899807 http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/04/gray-on-agw/ Dr. Gray has openly said man is not the sole cause. Some of his own students recently openly challenged his data at a conference since college campuses tend to more readily accept the idea global warming is going to cause the end of civilization as we know it. The debate rages on, and likely will for a long time before we have a better understanding of what is actually happening. But from my personal observations of more than 40 years of traveling as a writer/photographer and scuba diving around the world, I can state SOMETHING is happening. I've seen far too many ocean ecosystems altered. I've watched some completely die! I just wish I understood better WHAT is actually happening!
A little farther North, in Richmond B.C., we started to see the first signs of Daffodils breaking ground early-mid December. While I haven't been in the yard in daylight for the past 3 days -work gets in the way- I'll bet they're up 4-5 inches anyway. I would expect to see the first buds forming on our snowdrops in another 10 days or so and I'm already seeing some tulips breaking ground. While winter has really just started, spring's just around the corner....
So it sounds like it's totally normal then for foliage to be showing already. Thank you for the reassurances!
It is normal if you are having warmer than usual weather at this time of year and not to worry unless they come into full bloom and then have a long hard freeze (as happened here last year). As far as warmer temps. we had 69 degrees here a couple of days ago only to be topped by the record being 74 degrees in 1907! So much for Global Warming.
