False news - thermometers hit new highs for 2017!
Today was one of those perfect spring days as indicated by our indoor outdoor thermometer this afternoon (obviously the outdoor sensor is in a sheltered spot!).
What a perfect opportunity to get outside if you had the chance even by leaving the office for 5 minutes just to soak it all up and start to plan what you could do outside at the weekend (if you have any odd days to take off then you may be interested to know that the indications are that Monday should be another fine day).
Try not to get too excited though it is still only early March and we could still have cold weather. Camelia and early Rhododendron are now stating to flower, the Magnolia will not be far behind and fruit trees are also starting to come into blossom. It is typical for all to suffer from frost damage and for fruit trees this can mean the loss of your harvest.
For your established flowering shrubs there is probably not a lot of preventative action that you can take, the plant itself will not suffer long term, but leaves may be discoloured. But, if you have young plants or a prize specimen which you simply can not bare to see turn brown be ready with some protective horticultural fleece, secured to prevent wind blowing it away. For those of you that may be planning a garden it pays to consider potential frost damage when deciding where to site prone plants. Camelia, for example can be planted in the shelter of taller plants/structures which can help protect them from the added damage from sun burn on those frosty mornings.
Our potted Dwarf Peach Crimson Bonfire is now flowering nicely so I will be keeping an eye on it over the next few weeks. This year I have overwintered it in the greenhouse in the hope of protecting it from the dreaded peach leaf curl. A fungal disease, leaf curl leads to rather ugly blemishes on the leaves which then fall off leading to general loss of vigour to the plant. Covering the plant with plastic sheeting to protect it form rain is one solution I have tried previously. The protection does need to be in place from November to mid-May which is a bit unsightly and I clearly have not covered mine for long enough as the tree has suffered from curl every year so far. As we have a greenhouse it seemed better to pop it in there nice and early and I have just taken it out so that it will be pollinated - note to self to put it back inside before it rains!
Susceptible fruit trees will need protecting with fleece frost if possible - look out for strange looking trees in gardens and orchards!