Things that make you go HMMMmmmm

Ken - I would think you would need ambient temp to your calculation, that would level the playing field a little between z7 and z4 (examples). I think if you consider the tilt of the earth and the angle of the suns rays that would still leave a discrepancy between bloom times for the same plant so I am guessing ambient temp (x number of days above 75 or something COMBINED with sun exposure and the fact that plants know when they are supposed to bloom) would all play intot he mix .

Of course, that is just a WAG.....

BTW - my June is just starting to send up a scape - is that usually a late one or is mine being weird?

I think God says, "Bloom"

Not a scape in sight for my 3 Plantaginea. Are you talking late August? I just did a quick check , I didn't pull back leaves and look down into the plants.

Remember to post this again when you notice your first blossom open and then I'll recheck to see if mine are doing the same.

I do look forward to their blooming and try to walk around the garden late in the day and smell their fragrance.

Just another one of natures wonders.

Connie

I think the bloom time arises from the datew hen they first poked their noses out of the ground in the spring.
Their blooms are based on days of growing, just as are peonys and roses and tulips, not hours of sunlighta sa re mums and certain asters.
e had a very late spring this year and the plantiginea will be late bloominga s well.
Around here, the forsythia don't all bloom within a couple of days, I can drive 25 miles and see spring a week earlier.
Linda C

My plantaginea's already blooming. It sits next to the front entry, where it's sheltered & warm, so it started its growth much earlier than many of my other hostas. On the other hand, the Sum&Substance that's in the shady/cool spot has just started blooming too.

This is a funny thought that they somehow all "just know."

It could simply be a balancing act of warmer at one latitude balance with longer days at another.

I remember once I flew from my home location of Minneapolis to Urbana, IL, for business in late March. We had just had a snowstorm at home. I got off the plane and walked through the doors of the airport and was hit with a WALL of pollen. Relative to what the air was like at home, it could have knocked me over. There were bulbs blooming all over town. I had two springs that year.

I don't even have a scape on mine, though it looks healthy. But it's amazing just how fast a hosta can put up a scape and bloom in just a matter of a week. I'm thinking about 3-4 weeks from now in my neck of the woods will be blossom time.

Lainey

Yes Ken there is a summer Solstice along with a uh.. winter solstice. not sure what they call spring and fall though!! Anxious and Depressed??

Paul

Spring and Fall are called equinox.
I think temps have a lot to do with bloom time. We're slightly elevated on the Pocono Plateau and plants bloom 2-3 weeks earlier in the valleys.
Pam

'inlimbo'--good answer! :o)

The number of hours of daylight per day has an effect too, as I recall from college biology. I think the number of days after emergence is probably important and emergence is a function of ground temperature.
My Plantaginea is starting to send up scapes in the back yard (mid to late afternoon sun), but not yet in the front yard (morning to early afternoon sun).
Dave

Hours of daylight would explain why they Plantaginea are blooming in Ontario,Canada, and not here.

Lainey

many plants are triggered to bloom by the length of the day, But I don't think hostas are some of them.
Mums bloom based on length of day as do poinsettia.
If the length of the day were a factor in hosta blooming, they would always set bloom at the same time every year....and that's not so.
My whole garden was out of whack this year because of the very very late spring. Nothing bloomed early and then when it did get warm enough, we had roses, tulips and peonys all blooming at once.
I remember one year when we missed February...went from January to Spring! For 20 years I ran the Arboretum's plant sale always the first Saturday in May. That year we were way too late, everyone had their gardens planted. I had dug a bunch of hosta and just sat them on the ground next to the garage where I couldwater them as needed and theywere out of the sun. They completely leafed out and grew into nice plants, just sitting on the ground, not in a pot or anything.
Then this year, people didn't want to buy plants because it was way too cool and it snowed the day before!
And the forsythia was prettire that I have ever seen it. usually there is a lot of frosted buds, an early warm spell coaxes it into beginning to bud and then the temp drops and the buds never make it,. But we didn't have any early warm spell this year!! In fact it's just now warming up for real!
Linda C

Whenever it is, I wish it wasn't happening. I just cut off over a thousand stupid scapes. If there were a cultivar that never bloomed, it's the only one I'd have. They make a mess and remind me of hairy armpits.

Westy

HA! Westy, that's hilarious! Hairy armpits? Now everytime I see a scape (especially a spent one with dried out flowers on it) I'll think of hairy armpits! GROSSSSS! LOL

By the way, no scapes in sight for my Honeybells or Aphrodite... I actually don't have plain 'ole Plantaginea, wish I did! It's actually sorta hard to find from most of the hosta vendors... I think this is my third summer with Aphrodite and I have yet to see one of those magnificent double-blooms. :-(

Buff

Hey buff24 - SW Ohio? You should have blooms on everything by now - that's my old stomping ground. Actually, I'm responding because I can't believe you cannot find a Plantaginea. I got one as a gift from Connie (hostasformez4) two years ago and love it so much I thought I'd buy another or two or three but haven't checked out vendors. It is tougher than nails and a fast grower. I might start another thread about Plantaginea and where to find!!! I might also cave in and buy an Aphrodite since everyone is so nuts about it - maybe I'd learn to love a scape.

Westy

Westy, I agree - scapes are really ugly, except when they aren't -- when the flower is worth the stem... I like short scapes that look in proportion to the hosta - Blue Cadet comes to mind. Or, a scape that supports a wow flower - my new Guacamole has a great flower, so the scape will have to do!!

Plantaginea has scapes, not yet blooming here in CT....

Apparently God hasn't given the word yet....

Hey Westy... I think I saw that Hilltop Farms has plain 'ole Plantaginea for sale? But after the recent rumblings about poor customer service from there, I'm a bit reluctant to order from them. If NHH had Plantaginea, I would have ordered it in a heartbeat!!

Buff

Patriots emerged late and have been bloming for some time. Lancifolia? (don't know my names, plain darker green, nice leaf width & length, nice clumps, pointed, veined leaves), nothing yet, wanted a deeper purple bloom, got what I got, same old. The new divisions of Honeybells have put up several scapes now but taking their time about opening, nice surprise to see those already. I like the blooms some, like them a lot on HB's especially if they're going strong and put out a lot.