What are your Spring flowers blooming?

TNHunter · February 5, 2021, 10:49pm

Sorry — still no blooms here in Zone 7a, Tennessee (yet)… but here is a pic from a previous spring that I love.

That is a wild blueberry (rabbit eye, I assume) blooming in the foreground… and in the background what we call a wild bush honeysuckle. I have a big patch of the wild honeysuckle just off my back yard in the woods, some bloom pink, some white.

I have those wild blueberries all around the edges of my field and back yard… they ripen 2-3 weeks after wild blackberries. Impossible to beat the birds to them… I am going to try netting some this year so can hopefully get to taste a few.

Loving all these bloom pics. Will be glad when I have some from this year to show.

TNHunter

Monardella · February 6, 2021, 1:38am

If I didn’t know any better, I would say that’s a styrax (snowbell or storax). Cool pic.

californicus · February 6, 2021, 1:59am

We are having a mild winter so far this year

Tulips started to wake up a week or so ago

First peach blossom starting to pop

BlueBerry · February 6, 2021, 9:20am

Indeed I see the blossom resemblance. But the structure and leaves are in the blueberry family.

mrsg47 · February 6, 2021, 1:16pm

Fruit bearing as well? Very pretty!

Monardella · February 11, 2021, 6:48pm

Crocus, Grand Maitre

Monardella · February 14, 2021, 7:09pm

Here is my wife’s Valentine’s Day bouquet (taken from the yard):

TNHunter · February 14, 2021, 9:01pm

Sorry… still no blooms yet here in TN zone 7a… having a nasty cold spell right now.
Below is a elderbery from prev spring. They bloom in May here.

TNHunter

Luisport · February 14, 2021, 9:05pm

Springtime signs…

Chills · February 14, 2021, 10:10pm

My guess…

lonicera fragrantissima

not native. I’ve got one in my front yard and it generally blooms for me right around the beginning of March.

Scott

spurious · February 15, 2021, 5:17am

Peach (low chill) started blooming a bit over a week ago. Weeping Santa Rosa plum and pluot just starting to push green.

And the unidentified salvia in the background that the hummingbirds go crazy for. From a cutting at a local farm preservation.

Monardella · February 15, 2021, 5:47am

Maybe a Pineapple Sage. By the way, nice City of Orange street sign. I am from Orange.

spurious · February 15, 2021, 6:43am

Yes, looks quite a bit like pineapple sage (from what I’ve gathered online), except that it’s huge (7ft+) after ~1 year from a cutting, whereas most I see online are rather small/short in stature. Must be a variety of it though, as it does have a great fruity smell when brushed. The dark sepal color also looks different to those I’ve seen online which are mainly green.

I’m from Tustin originally, or more specifically unincorporated Santa Ana/North Tustin. Found that in the bushes after some strong Santa Anas over 10 years ago, and the city had already replaced the sign. Nice reminder of home, though am in the SF peninsula now.

TNHunter · February 15, 2021, 5:46pm

From Middle Tennessee today 02/15/2021… Blooms that I (HOPE) to show you in a month or so…

Rising Star Peach…

TifBlue Blueberry…

As you can see… winter is still hanging on pretty good here in TN.
These “buds” got a good coat of freezing rain… then we got about a half inch of sleet, and today is when we are supposed to get more accumulation, snow, ice, freezing rain…

I expect all these buds will be just fine… this is quite normal for us, Mid Feb.

TNHunter

swincher · February 17, 2021, 12:59am

Not quite blooming yet, but my Umbellularia californica (California bay laurel, aka Oregon myrtle) is getting ready!

This tree really takes the abuse well, it’s usually crawling with young primates (i.e. my kids, not pictured):

TNHunter · February 17, 2021, 1:20am

That is a very inviting climbing tree… if I was a kid it would be hard to resist for sure.

Georgeous too.

TNHunter

swincher · February 17, 2021, 1:25am

Also, the leaves are tasty in soups, and the nuts can be roasted for snacking or baking.

But some people get a headache from its terpenes (luckily no one in our family!). I’ve heard it’s hard to germinate its seeds, but there are at least 4 or 5 seedlings around the yard. Its own seedlings are basically the only thing that grows under it (apparently the terpenes give worse than a headache to competing seedlings).

BlueBerry · February 17, 2021, 2:17am

That’s a bush I’d like to grow if it would stand up to zone 6…but I already know it won’t.

lordkiwi · February 17, 2021, 1:49pm

This post got me thinking about this time last year. It was an early spring for me and I paniced for a month over my plum blossoms. This year there has been 2 ft of snow on the ground all month and 5-8 more expected thursday.

Early Spring it is 2020 - General Fruit Growing - Growing Fruit

BlueBerry · February 17, 2021, 3:39pm

Um, yeah, this is nasty weather. But, it will probably prove helpful to the fruit crop except for those “zone-pushing” cultivars. Callery pears were about to break dormancy mid January … but this cold has kept fruit from budding. Last year by the 20th of February around here, it was too late to collect scionwood. Not this year.