Sunday, March 8, 2015

Crocus Vigil Day 2: Here They Come!

The snow is melting and I'm only 2 days into my crocus vigil "Crocus Watch 2015" and I already see signs of life. I'm encouraged, because these are my first bulbs, and I was kinda worried I had put them in upside down or too deep. These little tiny sprouts are now a countdown until my first blooms of Spring here in Indiana.



So far, only 2 of about 30 are poking through, and it's the two that don't have any mulch over them - so I'm guessing in the next few days I should see similar stems poking through the mulch all around my borders.

crocus sprout march 8

crocus sprout march 8

The context, both of the sprouts I've spotted are in the stones and not in the mulch... I'm guessing it has more to do with the depth of the bulb, but another theory is that the stones heat up quicker and might make the ground warmer, triggering the emergence.

crocus sprout march 8

crocus sprout march 8

Elsewhere in the yard, I'm still waiting for the last of the snow to melt, and for the Crocus sp to emerge. The forecast was updated, and we should have a solid week above freezing (including overnight lows). It looks like spring has finally arrived here in Indiana.

iphone weather spring screenshot


The median last frost date for my location is April 15-22, so I'll keep an eye out for new sprouts - but I'm not going to transplant any grasses or any new additions until then. I am planning to work some peat moss into the heavy clay soil to start my main backyard bed. I want to get some of the peat moss in early to let it start decomposing to help the soil along before I put my plants in - so I'm hoping for a muddy sloppy March anticipating April planting.

melting snow on rocks
Goodbye snow, make way for Crocus blooms

mulch and landscaping rocks
Same spot as the above photo from a different angle a few hours later in the day

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