Homegrown: This is January in Iowa??

With temperatures hovering today near 60 degrees, Linn County Master Gardeners heard from at least one Iowan concerned about the warmer-than-normal January.

A caller to Linn County Extension's “hortline” had seen buds on lilacs and maple trees, said Thea Cole, who has 10 years of experience as a master gardener.

“I don't know that we've had this warm of a winter in our lifetime,” said Cole, of Mount Vernon. “Hopefully (the buds) will only swell and not get damaged.”

There is little homeowners can do to prevent the budding of trees and bushes, she said, adding that a second set of buds hopefully will appear later in the spring.

Cole said one warm weather risk is the thaw and freeze cycle that can heave plants – especially newer ones – out of the ground and expose their roots.

Gardeners should mulch their perennial plants with oak leaves, straw, wood chips or compost to protect the plants in the absence of snow, which acts as an insulator, she said.

Newly planted trees or other plants might also benefit from watering, but Cole noted homeowners should first check to see if the ground is thawed.

Besides mulching, not much can be done to protect plants from the temporary “heat wave,” but not to worry.

“I think all of these plants, all of these trees will survive,” Cole said. “People have just been appreciating this warm weather.”

FYI

The Linn County Master Gardeners “hortline” is staffed during winter months from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday at (319) 447-0647.