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Nittersing

(7,178 posts)
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 01:39 PM Apr 17

It's 74 degrees and my lilacs are starting to bloom. It's going to snow all day tomorrow.

I just cut the ones that are more than 50% blooming. If the rest don't survive the weather, at least I'll have a few days of their glorious aroma.

18 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Dixiegrrrl

(30 posts)
1. Dunno where you are, but down here in SW Alabama
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 01:56 PM
Apr 17

Same thing happens. Burst of warming air in March, then thunderstorms and chilly air kill off first blooms.
Summer lilacs come in, lush and beautiful.

Nittersing

(7,178 posts)
2. I'm in Colorado
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 02:02 PM
Apr 17

Looks like the temps won't be a problem (hovering right around freezing) but with everything starting to bloom and leaf out, if enough snow falls, we'll be looking at a lot of broken branches.

William Seger

(11,552 posts)
12. Yep, this is the time of year we get that very heavy, wet snow, not the glorious champagne powder
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:33 PM
Apr 17

Lots or tree damage a few years back, and this could be a repeat.

Nittersing

(7,178 posts)
14. Before I retired, I would leave for work around 4:30am.
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:40 PM
Apr 17

On year, I went outside and it was eerily quiet... except for the periodic crack/woosh of a falling branch under the weight of the snow. It was scary and exciting all at once.

markodochartaigh

(2,705 posts)
17. More than a decade ago
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 04:35 PM
Apr 17

I lived just south of Dallas. One night we got 14 inches of snow. I had lived in a snowy place so I knew to knock the snow off the branches of the live oak tree in my yard. When I went outside I could hear branches breaking for blocks around. The next week or so most yards had big piles of branches in front for the city to pick up.

Sky Jewels

(9,116 posts)
15. The second I saw your post title, I said: I'll bet that's Colorado!
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:56 PM
Apr 17

I've spent a lot of time in that state in all times of year, and it has the craziest, harshest, quick-changing-est weather I've ever experienced. It's nuts!

MiHale

(11,564 posts)
5. It was 92 degrees in north Michigan today...lower peninsula.
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:08 PM
Apr 17

Inside the greenhouse…

55 with sun outside.

Srkdqltr

(8,281 posts)
7. LOL. 55 deg here in south Michigan too. 70deg in my house.
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:16 PM
Apr 17

Hubby and I are hot house plants.

MIButterfly

(304 posts)
6. I absolutely love the smell of lilacs.
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:16 PM
Apr 17

My grandmother had lilac bushes in her backyard. We always went in and out the side door and I remember so well the smell of lilacs wafting over whenever there was a slight breeze. It was heavenly!

TheRickles

(2,697 posts)
8. Depends how cold it gets. A hard frost (in the 20s) could be trouble.
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:20 PM
Apr 17

But low 30s, and protected by a blanket of snow, could be survivable. We had snow on Mothers Day many years ago in Central MA and the lilac blossoms did fine - it made for some great photos of them against a white background. Good luck!

flashman13

(1,160 posts)
9. It snowed here last night, but generally that is not severe enough to set back the lilacs back.
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:23 PM
Apr 17

The jury is still out on one of my apple trees. It has already blossomed. I'm not sure if the tree will fruit after this quick chill. Sometimes the snow insulates sufficiently to protect the buds. Every year is a crap shoot.

Nittersing

(7,178 posts)
11. My neighbor's fruit trees went nuts last year!
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:30 PM
Apr 17

The very best of the last 10-15 years? We enjoyed so many peaches and cherries... we didn't even mind sharing with the squirrels!

Grim Chieftain

(87 posts)
10. I live in the Midwest
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 03:29 PM
Apr 17

I recall last year or the year before it was 83 degrees in the afternoon one day in March and snowed overnight. It's unreal.

JRS

(3 posts)
16. The annual killing of the fruit tree blossoms
Thu Apr 17, 2025, 04:32 PM
Apr 17

from "The Milagro Beanfield War." BTW, I'm in Colorado, too.

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