Cold Temps, Rain Could Impact Early-Blooming Flowers

Early-blooming flowers could potentially be impacted by cooler temperatures and heavy moisture.

That according to David Johnson, owner of Johnson Nursery & Garden Center in Cookeville.

“As far as when the bloom is fully exposed to moisture, there’s not a lot we can do about it,” Johnson said. “But, if any of the blooms are still in color and we have a cold snap coming, then it’s very easy to protect with frost blankets or anything like that. If a plant is just budding up and swelling and not showing a lot of color, they’re not as susceptible to the cold or the moisture.”

Johnson said he’s noticed several plants beginning to flower ahead of heavy rainfall that’s expected over the next week.

“If it’s a heavy rain like they’re calling for anywhere from four to six inches these next few days… starting last week, I started seeing Okame cherries in full bloom and daffodils in bloom,” Johnson said. “If they’re fully bloomed out or showing color, it will just shorten the life of the bloom, unfortunately.”

Johnson said the heavy rainfall from last week plus additional moisture this week will prevent some gardeners from preparing their flowers for the foreseeable future.

“Unfortunately it’s going to be a few more weeks. We just need four or five consecutive days of dry weather to help dry out the soil a little bit,” Johnson said. “The last thing you want to do is work up mud. It needs to be to where you can almost pick up the clumps and they’ll break in your hand. So it’s probably going to be about two or three weeks away, unfortunately, before people are going to be able to work up the soil.”

Johnson encourages gardeners to wait out Mother Nature before tending to any flowers. The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for parts of the region through Wednesday night as rain is expected to stay in the area through Friday morning.