- Climate Zone 5 extends across America from Connecticut through parts
of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kansas, and westward. South of this
(Zones 6-10), bloom is earlier.
To the north (Zones 2-4), bloom is later. - "Bloom" means one or more open flowers on five percent or more
of the plants of that variety here at the farm.
- To be included in a Bloom Season, a variety must be in bloom for
two-thirds (20 days) or more of the 30-day period.
- Extending the period of bloom, and "rebloom", have NOT been encouraged in
the growing field where these bloom records are taken.
(Attention to any of the following can often prolong the period of bloom.)
- No irrigation or supplemental watering has been given beyond natural rainfall.
- No fertilization has been given beyond the initial application of
composted sheep manure 15-18 months, or 27-30 months, previously.
- No removal of developing seed pods has been done.
- No irrigation or supplemental watering has been given beyond natural rainfall.
- Records are restricted to a single planting location per variety. (Plantings in different
locations here at the farm may vary in bloom period by several days.)
- No record is made of the flowering dates during the initial year of planting (3-6 months).
- No record is made of plantings over 3 years in age (39 months or more since planting).
Such records would be valuable, but we have so very few plantings of this age that they
would not make a comparable body of information.
- Records for several years are averaged together.
- During each of the past 5-10 years there has been a slight tendency for bloom to occur earlier by one to several days. As this trend continues, a variety tends to appear in an earlier bloom season and to disappear from a later one. For example, the variety Asiatic Pheasant was designated during the 1980s as "Midseason & Late Midseason" but it now blooms in "Midseason". Similarly, the yellow Suzie Wong has changed from "Early Midseason" to "Early". Here at Bloomingfields Farm, we believe this to be a local manifestation of Global Warming.
Asiatic Pheasant
Midseason
