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  • Weather Chat - 2023

We had about an inch of snow overnight but it is melting very quickly.

We have snow predicted this afternoon also. Temps above freezing though so it should melt fast. The weather forecast would suggest we’re looking at a couple of very wet upcoming weeks. I’m getting tired of gray skies. sure would be nice to do some weeding and clean up in sunshine.

We have hovered in the forties and fifties with nighttime temps in the high thirties, and not a lot of precipitation here in Seattle. I love the snow and part of me wishes this was our back yard, Emilyp!, it’s beautiful but I hope it doesn’t linger too long or inhibit your dahlia life!

Seems like the atmospheric firehose hit "Northern California" and missed us here in "Upstate California" this time around. I saw that the San Leandro Dahlia Society cancelled their in-person meeting in favor of Zoom due to extreme weather. I remember years where it rained for the entire month of April, so I'm prepared to grow moss for a while yet. 🙂

"Traditionally" I start putting my pots of growing dahlias out during the day time starting around 1 April. I bring the in at night (They are on wheeled racks) or when hail is predicted. I really want to start this but everything is behind and mostly what is ready to get some sunshine on it is fragile newly hatched seedlings. No way can I put them out yet! One good hailstone would smash the whole plant. THe tubers I potted up weeks ago are just starting to grow out of the soil. (Those were the "Iffy" tubers and I was just giving them a chance to grow if they were up to it) At least I am having something nice happening and I get excited when I see each one sprouting up. I don't know how much colder it is this year vs other years of whether I am following a Puget Sound weather pattern still...I'm just dreaming of those soft spring days when plants are happy in the sunshine. I have some nice pots of sprouted seeds growing and I keep reminding myself that this is supposed to be my focus now. But there are all the other pots of 2nd and 3rd year seedlings to get ready for my own Salish Test Garden.

It is 39 degrees as evening approaches with clear patches of sky between sleet and ice showers. I am glad everyone is still inside tonight!

LeeAnn posted something earlier on IG about (and I'm paraphrasing here) giving yourself space to not feel so pressured to get everything done right now. I'm taking that to heart. Normally, I have so many potted tubers going in my cabin by the end of April, I barely have room to walk. This year, given how much snow needs to melt, I'm holding off on starting tubers until I can actually clean off my gas meter without having to lay on my stomach & reach down. It feels odd but, at the same time, less stressful. I expect I'll be putting my tubers outside and arranging around snow piles still in mid-May.

@mr_blown_dry tells me the energy storage system went into 'storm watch' mode yesterday afternoon. The power company is keeping a weather eye, and now the gusts have arrived. I hope the back fence makes it and the roof stays on!

Weather is what you get and climate is what you expect to get. In your case, they do not seem to be on the same page.

We had a crazy storm come through last night...not sure where it came from as it was warm strong winds, not the potential snow,frost, sleet that was forecast. Power outages in our neighborhood but we had no problem. It is still 10 degrees warmer then what we were expecting.

    calico20hill what’s strange, is we (puget sound) were supposed to get a strong wind storm last night, and didn’t. Wonder if the storm went way further south than anticipated?😅

      The back fence made it and the roof stayed on! But the gusts did rock the house.

        Paige It look like yours might be still on the way. I always read the forcast for my old home and friends on Vashon Island, as well as my current one here N of Portland, O.

        This evening I realized that I'm an idiot. The days have been warmer so I've been opening up my loft window to let in some fresh air. Not thinking AT ALL about what else might come in with the air. Queue spider mites. Ugh....

        10 days later

        What do you think the lowest evening temperature potted up "plants" can take without being stunted. In SEMI we are expecting temps in the 80's next week with evening lows in the 50's. The following week evening lows in the 40's. Too Low?

          MIDahlias - 40s is actually pretty standard summertime lows here in my part of AK. The dahlias handle it just fine. I think, especially with the high temps you have, the dahlias won't even blink.

          I would take advice on when to plant according to soil temperatures with a grain of salt. In The Seattle area, if we waited for the soil be that temperature we would have been planting in August. However, the soil was usually frost free from sometime in April through late October.. Setting my plants out in mid to late May *When ever the soil was DRY enough....worked fine even if the soil temp was cooler, I pre-started them all in pots in my greenhouse so they were a good size when set out.Usually there were a few blooming by the end ofJUNE and pretty full production of flower from Mid August through first frost around Halloween. I did have mostly sandy loam soil with occasional chunks of clay or big boulders transported and dropped from the prehistoric glaciers and floods. That soil was ever so much nicer to work with then this Oregon red clay.

          Had 8 inches of rain the last 2 days a very large pine tree fell from across the creek and collapsed 1 of my 10yr old peach trees. Also had a 2nd tree fall into where I plant my dahlias, thankfully nothing is planted there lots of clean up now. I will likely try to plant out my tubers May 1 - 7 depending on if no rain is in the forecast.

          Will be in the mid 70 - 80s and 55 low rest of the week.

            NCDahlia Eight inches!! Sorry about your trees 😔
            It was a picture perfect spring day here in Virginia. The forecast is dry, with temps in the sixties, warming up to low eighties by end of week. Last year I planted late April/ early May, with a second batch early in June. It’s tempting to try it earlier! I’ll just make sure to get the irrigation set up. Who knows what we’ll face this season!