Winter Aconite Blooming in Ohio

My dad's winter aconite blooming in Ohio, well ahead of my crocus

My parents know I'm waiting for blooms here in Indiana, so guess what my dad just sent me! It's a photo of winter aconite [Eranthis hyemalis] with its petite yellow cups. The Missouri Botanical Garden profile lays it down with a slam against the later-blooming-crocus, "[Winter aconite] is a late winter bloomer (before crocus) that features cup-shaped, upward-facing, bright yellow, butter-cup like flowers."



I'm on day 6 of my crocus watch with a total of 5 sprouts, and noticed little partner sprouts next to the main emerging stems - but certainly nowhere near blooming.

This emerging crocus sprout has a buddy, can't tell if it's from the same bulb or not

Two of my emerging crocus bulbs have little brother sprouts coming up behind them and on the same day

Crocus Vigil Day 3: I Count Three Shoots

What is the emerging shoot of a flower called? A shoot? A stem? Either way, these little green worms are poking their heads up in 3 places around my backyard now. I'm on the edge of my seat to see which survived the winter and my first planting attempt. And honestly I kinda forget how many I put where, so it will be a treat to discover them cropping up here and there.



Day 3 of my Crocus Watch 2015 was technically yesterday, Monday, March 9. I'm blogging the morning of the 10th, and we've got rain today with a high of 48°F. In the photo below, I've paired up a before-and-after only one day apart, showing the new Crocus sp stem just as it emerges.

Crocus sp emerging, first day above ground

I expect many more to emerge in the next day or so. I told Chris I was hoping for blooms by Friday but I had to severely revise that considering the rate of growth. Blooms before April will be nice though, considering the rest of my yard is still asleep and a blah beige color.

My dry riverbed gives me something to look at, but looks especially bland in the winter

My rock collection lined up, waiting for me to pick my favorites to accent the back bed

Update: By the end of the day on Tuesday, Crocus Watch Day 4, we had 5 shooters poking up.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Goodbye snow, make way for Crocus blooms

Same spot as the above photo from a different angle a few hours later in the day