Here in SE Wisconsin no signs of pips yet. But before the snow/sleet/ice storm yesterday, I saw the leaves of a crocus peeking out!

debra

Some of mine have been doing that as well, one in particular back in late January, that's the first picture, the others were taking a few minutes ago.

And this is the same pot today. Our temps haven't risen above the mid-forties, this is clausa var. normalis.

Below is 'Tousled Hair', a 'Hacksaw' seedling.

Pieter

Several of mine are pipping. Liberty was the first. (I bought it last year, so I'm surprised it's so early.) I whined about it back in January. I moved those showing pips to the shade, (at ken's suggestion). We had a couple of nights of freezing temps and they slowed down. These were taken earlier in the week, so they are a little more advanced now. I didn't post photos of Squash Casserole, as the purple pips didn't show up.

Liberty

Honey Bells

Diamonds are forever

I was unhappy to find out I have 5 pots that are pipping! And I'm not in as warm a zone as any of you.

and a closeup of the same:

Two were kept in the attached, unheated garage. None of them ever came out this early. The other three were under a walkway. I was hoping not to see them for another month. That would give me time to deal with some of my houseplants that need to be repotted or propagated.

We are barely above freezing during the day and below freezing during the night. It looks like those temperatures will be with us for at least two weeks.

I am sorry. My pots/plants are 1 month ahead, too. I have not created a thread celebrate the arrival of spring because of that. 1 month early is far too early. We have 3 nights in a row below freezing next week. Pretty much everything has pipped or unfurled. The peach tree has already finished its bloom.

I looked through previous years of pictures. It was almost this warm in 2020. My plants were about 1-2 weeks slower in 2020.

I am sorry to hear that your plants and pots are up so early UTOG. As much as we want to see them, being early creates problems and disappointments. The first hint I had that plants were awakening was when I ventured out on a mild day to find tulips growing. Not sure what will happen to them or whether they will freeze. Nature keeps us on our toes and brings a lot of surprises!

Mine are pips and some unfurrled. My dogwood is blooming (usually happens the 1st week of April), The flowering cherries are in full bloom and humming with bees and butterflies. We are suppose to go down to 29 degrees next week. Ugg, time to get out all my covers, maybe they will be wrong...

The neighbors started feeding the deer last fall and now they brazenly walk thru my yard and munch on stuff. My hosta and daylilies may be toast this year. The squirrels must have all had bonus babies last year, and that horrible armadillo is still digging up my flower beds and yard. I would like to annihilate some woodland creatures. Other than those few aggravations I am loving all the spring flowers.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Most all of my hosta are pipping. Our average last killing frost is March 15, so I may skate.

It's supposed to be warm and sunshiny this afternoon, so I will be working on re-pots and hoping for the best.

bkay

Today, 38 degrees outside and snowing.

3/12/23. So many. Still snowing.

That is no fun at all utog. I envy your long season but sometimes "Careful what you wish for" applies.

UTOG, your hosta are looking so good right now in your pictures. Thirty-eight degrees should be fine for the hosta. Can you cover up some or all of them if the nights are freezing?

I only have the 5 pots currently that are growing. I take them out in the afternoon when the temperature is above freezing---even if it is just 33 degrees. Then I put them back in the garage for the night. Our frost free date is about May 10th! That's in two months!

Frankielynnsie, can't believe your neighbors are feeding the deer! How frustrating! What zone are you in?

Bkay, great that you can get some repotting done. I assume that your pots are not frozen then.

I think I saved them. I stowed them under the house and in an outdoor closet. I may have to do it again in 4 days.

Don't leave them in a closed in area longer than you have to. That's how I lost 90% of my potted hosta. Rhizoctonia root rot is a fungus that reproduces in a damp and cold environment. Mine were close together in the garage for about 10 days (late cold weather). The advice after I had them tested was not to keep them so close together.

bkay

I'm covering a few in the ground that have unfurled already with overturned ceramic pots, and I've moved my containers back to the shed. We have freezing temperatures predicted for the next four mornings. How many days is too long to keep them covered or inside (unheated)?

I put mounds of pinestraw over my early hosta/perennials and they look pretty good after 3 nights of 31 degrees. My pot garden hosta were covered with a big sheet and some of the top most leaves are damaged. Rain today is messing with my pinestraw mounds and they are saying 3 more nights of freezing coming this weekend. I will have to rebuild some of the pinestraw mounds. The hydrangea leaves are toast. I was hoping the overhead trees would give some protection but I know they will put back out.

The strangest thing this year is how long the cherry blossems have lasted. They were pretty for 2 weeks but todays rain has taken off most of the flower petals. I enjoyed working outside listening to the bees singing in the cherry trees.

I'm not sure about how long it takes for rhizoctonia to "bloom". (I know that's not the right word, but I can't remember the right word for fungus procreation.) It's about having them wet, cold and close together. It's a common fungus found in soil, so who knows where you get it. Once you have it in your pots, there is almost no cure.

bkay

Bkay, you are so right. I did not bring Royal Charmer in last week because I suspected that infection and did not want it to infect everything. I am nervous about tonight because forecast says either low of 31 or low of 36. The next 2 nights after tonight have lows in upper 20’s. I would move everything today, but then have to leave it all in crawl space for nearly 72 hours. Possible frost tonight vs likely mass infection. In spring, I feel like I play chicken with the forecast.

I certainly understand that. It's just supposed to get down to 36 tonight, but I just dragged out the row cover for tonight. It warms up a bit after that. I didn't have quite enough, so I was only able to cover the top of the new pots. They are just pips. So, hopefully no damage.

Growing hosta in the south is not for the faint of heart.

bkay

They say that the last frost has passed, though almanac says late frosts can happen until April 10….
Happy first day of spring! All of my hostas are out of the crawl space and closet. A few got significant frost damage or otherwise did not survive the winter. The vast majority did great and look like this tonight. :)

utog..your hosta are here!..good thing mine aren’t..took this pic March 18th..it was in the high teens low 20’s..

this was the day before..

this concrete pot has hosta pips..I used a hosta as filler with annuals last summer..haven’t looked since the freeze..it’s in the 50’s now..

Y’all, it is not just pips. Happy Dayz, Danubie Isla, Valley’s Lemon Squash, and pip of Cutting Edge