Winter warmth shouldn't damage early bloomers

PITTSBURGH — With the recent stretch of above average warmth and near record temperatures, you might be thinking spring is a bit ahead of schedule. In fact, even some of your plants may be on an accelerated timeline.

To put things in perspective, we are on pace for the third warmest February and 10th warmest winter on record. These types of winters don’t happen all that often.

The National Weather Service told WPXI this is the warmest February in 127 years!

With that said, it’s no surprise these plants decided to show up before they normally would.

With two cold spells forecast in early March, it can be a concern for anything that has budded too early.

Severe Weather Team 11 went to Phipps Conservatory to see if these quick-bloomers may be in danger.

“That little bit of heat did not really do a whole lot to what's going on here in the garden,” said Phipps Conservatory Display Horticulturist Laura Schoch. “We're not really worried about what's going to happen in the next few weeks.”

Some flowers you may already be seeing, like irises, like the cool weather. If those happen to be in your garden, have no fear – they will be fine.

“I would be a little bit cautious on how aggressive you go on cleaning up your garden right now,” Schoch said. “The soil is moist and we don't want to do anymore soil compaction. We want to be a little judicious as how much we're removing from the protection of the plants.”

Schoch does recommend not mulching or buying plants, such as petunias, too early. It’s best to wait until May to get them or if you already have them, put them inside if it’s expected to get cold.

Cox Media Group