Local growing season falls behind this winter
Posted March 10, 2017 7:17 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The long, cold, snowy winter we have had so far has been hard on a lot of people but it’s also hitting Metro Vancouver’s gardens.
The spring growing season is actually way behind because of our extra wintry winter. “Absolutely, we’re seeing a lot of plants that are behind this season. A lot of things that are normally in bloom have just started to bud now. We’re probably seeing plants that are two to three weeks behind normal,” explains Miles Hunter with Hunter’s Garden Centre.
He adds we’d normally be seeing a lot of early blooms right now, but that’s not really happening. “There’s not a lot blooming that would normally be blooming at this time. Last year was also a very early, warm spring so things are blooming a little bit earlier. Different things are in bloom right now that are blooming later than they would have.”
Hunter says it’s still a great time to be out pruning in your garden. “And it’s your last chance to spray your fruit trees or roses with a dormant spray, otherwise once the weather warms up a bit and the ground is not frozen then you can start planting.”
As gloomy as they may seem for your plants, there’s an upside to the freezing weather we’ve seen — it might have killed over-wintering insects like those pesky aphids.
