It's unreal, isn't it? I'm in Northern Virginia and spent Saturday weeding around our lot. Our new fescue grass lawn never has looked better (we did put 18% nitrogen fertilizer down several weeks ago). So far we haven't had to mow again but it's getting close on that. We have roses, camellia's, pansies all looking good. Cool weather is coming I hear, but won't last long.

We have had a warm fall, too. Grass stopped growing weeks ago, but live oak leaf drop started this past weekend. We might get some morning temps in the 20s this week. We'll see.

The news said something about the polar oscillation not...oscillating, or something. I was only half listening. :-)

Yeah, we're projected to hit 70 on Christmas Eve this year, with a warm, green, 66 degree Christmas. My mom keeps muttering, "There's a reason I moved away from Hawai'i." True statement, they missed the seasons.

Im also in Central/Southern VA (Chester) and was wondering are there any negatives to this warmer weather? Will bulbs and things be hurt by accidentally coming to life right before winter?

@John: Possibly. Tulips, once they sprout, can very easily be de-bloomed by cold weather. Fortunately, they probably think this is a rather warm fall, and sprouting is more of a danger after a moderate cold spell followed by warm weather.

If this keeps up, many bulbs (particularly boreals or cooler temperate ones) may either die or not bloom well (or at all) next year. They require a chill period to set blossom.

I haven't been able to plant the seeds that do best with a chill period, whereas most years they're in the flats and in the garage in mid November. This will be problematic in terms of starting those plants next year, but fortunately none of them absolutely require a shot of cold weather...or I can fake it in the fridge come the first of the year if I absolutely have to.

So I could think about starting a lawn reno since it's so warm, right? (jk).

My St Augustine stopped growing many weeks ago, but it's still green. Up in the Hill Country it's beginning to look dormantish. I suspect it will turn color this year.

We had live oak leaf drop about a month ago, but the Hill Country maples have not dropped their leaves yet. Leaves all changed color and are brown but still hanging on the trees. These are the same maples that grow in the east. Around here they call them lost maples because they are so far out of their normal range.

Rebel Fescue grass looks good still (occasional bare spot where seed didn't grow yet). Junco's have returned and are attacking newly laid seed by the main street road. Ha! Weather for MidAtlantic region in January is no significant pattern change: above average with short intrusions of cold per experts.

This year I added a four foot Laceleaf Japenese Maple to our front yard. One aspect I am very happy with it's leafless body adds a delicate, soft oriental look so not an eyesore. Happy winter lawning everyone!

There was a portion of a field near by where they were storing trucks/machines for road resurfacing. They finished the project on Dec. 1. Afterwards they must have seeded and added straw. The new grass in those areas is about 4" tall and looks great. That's better at 22 days than my reno in September. And that's with very dry conditions most of December.

We had daffodils, jonquils and irises putting up flowers, but then we hit 20 degrees over night. Will this kill the whole bulb, or just the shoot? My daylilies put up leaves as well.

Weaker bulbs may not be able to bounce back from this, but in nature this is merely very unusual, not unheard of. Most will leaf out just fine in spring.

Blooming, however, is questionable. Some will, some won't. This coming spring is unlikely to be impressive in terms of crocus, daffodils, or early tulips. Any bud that sprouts and was above the ground level when winter finally hit died.