Random Thoughts
Spring is in the air, and you're out there checking your garden and discovering nothing has come up. Don't panic. There are a few reasons why your plants are showing yet. The weather was cold in many areas this winter. Cold weather can delay the start of spring plant activity. Bulbs have to warm up, so if the ground is too cold, they may still be snuggled up for the winter.
It may be too early. If you're like me, you're dying to see the first evidence of spring. Well, check your garden journal. If you're keeping records, you can tell if it's too early. I was surprised my crocuses aren't up yet. But a quick check of my garden journal, showed that they didn't start to appear until the first week of March last year. Because of the cold weather, I won't be surprised if they're later this year than last year.
Don't go out with your shovel when your bulbs are late coming up. All you're going to do is kill a few bulbs when you dig around looking for them. Have some patience and wait a few weeks (or months for those further north than I am).
In 1999, my crocuses were blooming by this time. The difference: I moved them from the front yard to the backyard in 1999. My backyard is a lot shadier so the ground takes longer to warm up. When the spring of 2000 rolled around, they took about 2 weeks longer to come up and start blooming. Did you move your plants last fall? (or if you're like me, I move my bulbs in the spring so I decrease the chance of missing any.) If the ground takes longer to warm up in the new location or they receive less sun, your plants may not be up as soon and your shrubs may take longer to bloom.
All your neighbors' daffodils, forsythia, tulips, etc. are up and off to the races and yours are doing nothing. Does this happen every year? Or perhaps you've put in a new plant, so you can't tell. First, if you've both had the plant for a few years, you should be able to compare it pretty accurately to your neighbors. My forsythia always bloom after my neighbors. It could be that my yard is slightly cooler, or the variety may be different. It doesn't matter, I know this, so I don't panic. If one or the other has recently put in new flowers or bushes, don't be surprised if your plant is behind your neighbor's. Just make a note in your garden journal so next year you won't be taken by surprise.
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