THE Royal Horticural Society has announced that trees and shrubs are bursting with blossoms this spring, thanks to the weather conditions over the past year.
Gardens are already brightened up by blooming plants like magnolias, early cherries, camellias, while rhododendrons and wisteria seem promising, says the horticultural charity.
The blossom on fruit trees looks good too, but the final decision whether they will produce plentiful pear, apple and plum harvests later in the year relies on whether the flowering trees escape spring frosts or not.
The lovely display of blossom we see today is due to favourable weather conditions since last spring a damp March 2023 helped maintain soil moisture, an extremely hot June provided plenty of light for the development of buds, and a rainy summer kept them well hydrated.
Though the winter was generally mild, it had enough cold days to break the dormancy of flower buds which are currently blooming in the milder weather now, the RHS stated.
“The trees are laden with viable flower buds, due to favourable weather last spring and summer when flowering trees form flower buds for the following year.”
, said RHS chief horticulturist, Guy Barter. He added that “Plentiful March rain meant soil moisture was still high, while extremely hot, bright weather in June and the subsequent lack of summer drought was ideal for flower bud formation.”
“The warm September weather completed bud development.”
He also mentioned: “Although this winter has been mild and wet, there was still enough cold to release dormant buds so they can open at the right time.”
The RHS shared that its gardens in Rosemoor, North Devon; Hyde Hall, Essex; Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire; Bridgewater in Greater Manchester and Wisley in Surrey, are bursting with spring colours on shrubs and trees.
Additionally, due to an unusually warm February, snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils have bloomed early, according to the charity.
