Many have welcomed the freakishly warm February we have been seeing across the region. In the midst of a week when temperatures in the region and many other parts of the southeastern U.S. have been in the 60s, 70’s, and even an 80 degree day in some spots has some people saying winter is over.
But this is not a good thing. As good as it feels to open a window or get out the bike or finally take down the Christmas lights, it’s hard to not at least wonder what the early warm spell might mean for our plants. 
Remember, they’re still in the middle of their long winter’s nap. Waking them up a full month before the first day of spring on March 20 is like your bedside alarm inexplicably going off at 4 a.m.
Think of the lack of snow cover as the equivalent of someone pulling the blankets off the bed so there’s nothing to snuggle back under. That’s where the trouble comes in, especially if temperatures nosedive again. With perennials, once the soil warms up and temperatures suddenly drop back into the low 20s, the ground can heave and roots can freeze to death. We’re starting to see the effects of a sustained February warm-up in some of our trees and flowers. Daffodil buds have appeared, and the leaves of some tulips are several inches out of the ground. While most plants can sleep through a day or two of unseasonably warm 
temperatures, unusually hot weather that lasts for an extended period can cause them to wake from winter slumber and begin sending up tender shoots. Now here we are in the latter part of February where we are having record warmth with highs in the 70’s. The extreme nature of this winter’s early warm-up will test some plants, and it may disrupt the bloom cycle of some spring-flowering trees and shrubs, but we can only wait and see. It’s important to remember that loss is an inevitable part of gardening no matter how experienced the green thumb and no matter what the weather brings from one year to another. I have been warning that 
winter is not over.
Unfortunately, if the warmth keeps up, it could cause serious damage to the winter wheat crop and various fruit trees that are starting to bud out. While trees can’t grow new flower buds if killed off, they can grow new leaf buds. Even if emerging flower and leaf buds are killed by a frost later on this winter, the plants will survive. We are still nearly a month away from the first day of spring on March 20th. Right now, things haven’t gone far enough to do too much damage. But we need some cool spells to slow things down a bit. It is looking more like alternating waves of cool and mild air will take turns through the end of February in the East.
However, as the calendar flips to March, significant changes are likely to take place in the jet stream pattern over North America. Remember the sudden stratospheric warming event in the Arctic I spoke of in my last blog post? As a result, here comes the cold. An upcoming change for early March will bring a return of colder weather, but will it yield bigger, and snowy storms for the region? Let’s hope so. The snow will insulate the winter wheat crop and protect it and other plants from any extreme cold. The question is how cold will it get and how long will it last? There are signs it could last a little past mid-March, before taking a turn towards warmer conditions. So, if you didn’t get around to mulching last year and still have a spare bale of straw around, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to mulch your perennials. Or, you can do as gardeners have been doing for ages: cross your fingers, ride it out and hope for the best. If you enjoyed reading this post, feel free to leave a comment and be sure to hit the like button at the bottom of the post.