Just Relax and Enjoy the Flowers
Even though praecox means developing early, ‘Praecox’ Christmas rose hellebore is one of the main season varieties that bloom later in January or February. Here it is in mid-December.
Like much of the country, southeastern Pennsylvania, US, zone 6 to 7, has had unseasonably warm weather for weeks. There has been no snow, the ground has not frozen, we have only had 2 or 3 real frosts, not enough to set back the acanthus, and it was 70 degrees F on Christmas Day. It has also been raining for most of two weeks. Quite a change from the last two falls when it got cold in October and stayed that way. In 2013 to 2014, we experienced record snowfalls. In 2014 to 2015, there was not much snow but record low temperatures.
Nursery News: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.
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‘Winter’s Joy’ fall-blooming camellia is not blooming early but instead continuing to bloom beyond when its flowers and buds would usually be frozen and done. It started in October and is about to enter its fourth month.
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Should we be worried? As Mark Rylance, playing a Soviet espionage agent accused of treason, says in “Bridge of Spies”, would it help? Lots of attention needs to be paid to the very serious issue of climate change and what the US in particular can or should do in the face of the incontrovertible evidence of evolutionary temperature changes occurring at faster than evolutionary speeds. But worrying about the plants in our gardens and neighborhoods won’t accomplish much. We can’t control the weather so just relax and enjoy the early flowers. My friend John Lonsdale who is originally from England tells me that if we lived there, this would all be completely normal—the weather and the bloom times. Here is what is early in my garden:
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Winter jasmine usually sends out a few flowers through out the winter whenever it gets warm. The whole shrub is in bloom now with not many buds left for later.
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The giant snowdrop ‘Xmas’ does open flowers by Christmas, but right now the whole patch is in bloom and starting to go by. Last year I had flowers through March.
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The giant snowdrop ‘Standing Tall’ also opens its buds around Christmas. It was so early this year that its flowers are now completely done.
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February-blooming ‘Redstart’ pulmonaria or lungwort is in full flower all through my gardens.
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The lovely, evergreen Japanese mahonia is a late winter bloomer but all my shrubs are in flower.
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‘Winter’s Song’, whose name has been inexplicably changed to ‘Joker’, is a Christmas rose cross that normally waits until late January or February.
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Double hybrid hellebores are generally a little later in my garden but this one looks gorgeous today.
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How about this for a surprise? On Christmas Day, ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’ opened two flowers. It is the earliest daffodil that I know of but that’s usually February.
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Highly fragrant winter-flowering honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) is blooming. It usually flowers slightly before forsythia.
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‘Blue Lady’ hybrid hellebore decided to put on an early show.
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My favorite hellebore form with the little ruffles inside (petaloid) didn’t disappoint me.
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Geum ‘Cooky’ has been flowering all fall.
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One of my favorite snowdrops ‘Fly Fishing’ has been whipping around in all the rain and wind on its extra long, fishing line pedicel (flower stem).
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No open flowers yet, but the edgeworthia flower buds are swelling to form elegant silver tassels.
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Many people have asked me what will happen in the spring? Most of the plants that are flowering now are using buds that they formed after they were done flowering last spring. If every bud opens, they will not form new buds and will not bloom again. My advice is to enjoy them now!
Carolyn
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CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS 
December 29, 2015 at 10:01 pm
Wow, you have so many blooms! Nope, not happening here! We just got a snow/ice storm so all my plants are covered with several inches of snow. So far, though, no subzero weather! It sure would be nice to have a winter free of subzero temps. The “normal” winter weather isn’t really all that bad if it doesn’t last too long. 🙂
December 30, 2015 at 9:21 am
Beth, The really cold weather that we had last winter with no snow was the worst weather combination I can think of for plants. All I want is to not experience that again. Carolyn
December 30, 2015 at 12:18 am
I love ‘Fly Fishing’ Maybe you will offer that one day..
James >
December 30, 2015 at 9:22 am
James, I did purchase some ‘Fly Fishing’ stock in order to get started producing it. It was very expensive. Carolyn
December 30, 2015 at 5:28 am
Just a little correction, if I may. The shrub you call an Abeliophyllum is actually a winter-flowering honeysuckle.
December 30, 2015 at 9:24 am
Thanks for catching that. I meant Lonicera fragrantissima and got confused. Carolyn
December 30, 2015 at 9:12 am
I wouldn’t complain either if that’s what I had in bloom in December! We’ll see what happens in January but my fingers are crossed it will be a short winter and early spring. Things here are mostly laying low, only a few early sprouts, but if winter does come we will surely see something a little worse than what you “southerners” get!
December 30, 2015 at 9:18 am
Frank, It’s funny you should say that. I have Boston and Portland, Maine , on my weather page and they were routinely warmer than here last winter and the winter before. I have noticed the same trend this year until this latest warm trend. I too would not mind a short winter but will take what nature sends. Some sun would be nice. I really do feel like I live in London. Carolyn
December 30, 2015 at 10:58 am
Carolyn, that “favorite” hellebore you featured is adorable. Enjoy your early blooms.
December 30, 2015 at 11:03 am
I have a collection of petaloid hellebores. They don’t seem to be selected and named, at least not in the US, so I just save them and plant them in a special place in my garden when they appear. Happy New Year, Carolyn
December 30, 2015 at 12:55 pm
Carolyn, Would it be ok to cut back the hellebores now instead of Jan/Feb so that we can enjoy the blooms?
December 30, 2015 at 1:47 pm
Cindy, Yes, do it now even though the leaves look nice they will still eventually die back. The flowers are mostly exposed so the leaves aren’t providing much protection should it ever get cold. Carolyn
December 31, 2015 at 10:52 am
My goodness. I have a few flowers and a couple of snowdrops but we are getting winter now so the garden is likely sleeping. There may be a few more surprises as I don’t think we will have much snow cover.
December 31, 2015 at 8:15 pm
Winter is coming soon though, so let’s hope everything else stays tightly budded. Happy New Year!
January 1, 2016 at 3:53 am
I only wish I was on the right side of the Atlantic to order from you Carolyn. ‘Fly Fishing’ is superb …
January 1, 2016 at 9:17 am
Cathy, Readers in the EU can order snowdrops from Avon bulbs in England. Happy New Year, Carolyn
January 1, 2016 at 10:08 pm
Amazing to see all those flowers. I love the jasmine. Winter got here with our first plowable snow a few days ago, and high temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday are only forecast to be in the teens. So, after all those weeks of warm weather, I’m finally getting my internal calendar set to the right season. Happy New Year!
January 2, 2016 at 7:58 am
Jean, Winter comes this week. 14 degree low on Monday. We will see how the flowers fare. Carolyn
January 2, 2016 at 10:17 pm
A surprise yes. I hope to be in PA soon. I wanted to get to DC too and see the out of season bloom.
January 4, 2016 at 2:03 pm
Donna, I think the out of season bloom in DC will be gone after tonight. My winter jasmine is already frozen and so are the open camellia flowers. Carolyn
January 3, 2016 at 3:54 pm
You do have some lovely blooms! Your hellebores are far ahead of mine. Our weather has been very similar to yours, though I would consider it not unusual in my part of the country. We have had a couple of hard freezes that have slowed some of the blooms down. Unfortunately, all the premature flowers are likely to get zapped by the next hard freeze. It is one of the great frustrations of our yo-yo winter weather here.
January 4, 2016 at 2:02 pm
Deb, Well we are going to experience the yo-yo weather tonight with 12 degrees. My winter jasmine is already frozen but still looks pretty. Carolyn
January 6, 2016 at 1:05 pm
Lots of surprises in your garden Carolyn. Relax and enjoy, I like that, mind you the main event is often spoiled. There you go, I am still as grumpy as ever. Enjoy 2016.
January 7, 2016 at 9:11 am
Alistair, something is lost but something is gained is my point, best to think about the positives. Anyway, it’s all over now with 14 degree F weather. Carolyn
December 13, 2020 at 11:47 am
I am in search of Ashton’s Red Sunset And Ashton’s prelude Camellia plants. Do yo have a good answer for me as to where to find. I believe they would do well for me. I have Elaine Lee ,Korean fire, Winters Water Lilly. Thank you William Brandt Central Ks.
December 13, 2020 at 3:07 pm
Try Camellia Forest Nursery in North Carolina.