SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- While rain showers and warmer temperatures are signs of springtime, early blooming flowers are too! Here are a few flowers beginning to bud this month.
- Daffodils: Known for their bright yellow color, they are among the first flowers bud, eventually blooming in the late winter/early spring.
- Crocuses: They flowers have bright, colors like purple, yellow, blue, orange and white. These flowers can bloom through frost.
- Snowdrops: Their name is very fitting, as they can grow will snow on the ground. They are identified by their white and green petals.
All the flowers mentioned above all have something in common—they require a hard freeze to bloom. It's called vernalization, the cooling of the seed to accelerate flowering. Cold temperatures in the winter and layers of snow keep the soil at a good temperature for this process.
For these flowers to bloom in late winter and early spring, they would need to be planted in the fall before the ground freezes.
Avoid overwatering these flowers and others like it—soggy conditions lead to rotting bulbs. Natural rainfall will provide adequate moisture.
A word of caution for all the crocus lovers, be aware that these flowers often get eaten by rodents, so snowdrops make a great alternative.
These flowers are a beautiful contrast from the dull colors of winter and truly signal the transition between winter and spring. While there are many more early bloomers, be on the lookout for these and others this month.