Terrible Year for NW Gardeners?

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by Eric La Fountaine, Oct 28, 2005.

  1. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

    Messages:
    3,511
    Likes Received:
    235
    Location:
    sw USA
    The following was sent via email:

    Dear Botany People:
    This year has been atrocious for gardeners. My flowers bloomed early and quickly, and then whithered, and are now blooming again, yet without forming seeds.

    My tobacco plants which normally reach 8 feet, are only 1, or 2 feet tall, most of them about 8 inches. I have talked to many other gardeners, and all experience the same phenomenon.

    My theory is that the early sunny Feb/March tricked the flowers to think it is summer, but then the rainy May?June tricked them into thinking it was fall.

    Of course that doesn't quite conform to current scientific dogma, which says that flowering is only directed by the number of hours of daylight.

    Do you experience the same conditions, and do you have an explanation?

    Puzzled

    Herb, Coquitlam
     
  2. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

    Messages:
    3,511
    Likes Received:
    235
    Location:
    sw USA
    I agree things got a late start and summer ended much too quickly, but it was not such a bad year in my garden. I had tobacco as well (Nicotiana sylvestris), it grew to the usual metre+; I had incredible castorbean (Ricinus), they grew to over 3 metres and had leaves 70-80 cm across! There was a definate lack of flowers in general though.

    Well, every summer cannot be like last year's.
     
  3. Hi Eric. this is Herb, I posted the original thread. Are you saying that your tobbaco plants only grow 1 meter high?

    I planted tobacco the previous 2 years, both Virginian, and Turkish, and they averaged 6 foot plus, the highest virginian over 8 ft, and my backyard is surrounded by high trees, so the light is not exactely at maximum.

    Now I am really confused, as it appears that maybe the previous years were extraordinairy? (This is only my 3rd year of gardening)

    However tobacco aside, I planted Calendula (Calendula officinalis) in about March (germinated from previous years seed) The started flowering, and after two weeks of flowering they withered. Now (Oct) the whithered plants are flowering again. Last year they flowered from March to June. I also planted Painted Tongue (Salpiglossis sinuata), germinated from last years seed, and they barely flowered at all. Last year they bloomed from June to November.

    My Daisies didn't come up at all.

    And so on.
     
  4. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

    Messages:
    21,251
    Likes Received:
    786
    Location:
    WA USA (Z8)
    Some stone fruits and other plants were unusually productive (for this area).
     
  5. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

    Messages:
    3,511
    Likes Received:
    235
    Location:
    sw USA
    A metre is the normal size for the variety of tobacco that I planted, so it and the castorbean were normal. Fruit trees produced well, but I do agree some plants did not do well at all. I guess it has a lot to do with timing. There were some poorly timed cool spells for the development of some plants. This seems to happen each year though. Each crop seems to have good years and bad years and what is a good year for one plant may not be a good year for another.

    (I am glad you got the message Herb, I was perplexed that the email forward did not contain your email for me to reply. Enjoy the forums, you are welcome to join if you like. Its free, the conversation is good!)
     
  6. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

    Messages:
    21,251
    Likes Received:
    786
    Location:
    WA USA (Z8)
    Korean mountainash street tree planting in Mount Vernon, Washington seen fruiting profusely this week - looked like autumn leaf color display from down the street. So, again, it was a lousy year for gardens only if your definition of gardens is confined within certain parameters. Those of us who look at all kinds of plants and plantings saw some great results.

    Final example: a friend put some composted manure around a 'King' apple and the thing became laden with fruit, set against contrasting deep green leaves. It must've been nitrogen deficient or needed something else that was provided by the topdressing/mulch.
     
  7. angilbas

    angilbas Active Member

    Messages:
    41
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Sidney, BC
    The weather was never really hot at Victoria, Canada over the summer of 2005. However, most days were warmer than the long-term average, warm enough to induce relatively early ripening-off even though rainfall was near normal. Spring flowers died back, unwatered lawns began to turn brown and trees showed signs of drought stress while the summer was still fairly young. This has been one of our worst years for black spot.


    -Tony
     
  8. SRTech

    SRTech Member

    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    NW USA
    Here in Oregon, fruit growing has been pretty bad in alot of areas. Peaches seemed to do well though. But my apple tree had only a handful of apples, and several other people I talked to said they had only 2 or 3 apples from all their trees put together.
     

Share This Page