People are out in droves enjoying the unusually mild temperatures and sunny skies but is winter really over?
We checked in with local gardeners who aren’t fooled by this “false spring” weather.
Mid 60-degree weather in early February.
That has some people thinking about doing some gardening and fresh planting.
We talked to an expert who says take it slow.
“People get really get excited when it turns to 60 degrees. You’ve got to understand this is February 9th,” said Gary English, Landsystems Nursery owner.
English has owned and operated the nursery in Bend for 45 years and has seen many “false springs.”
He’s already getting calls from people asking if they can start gardening.
“Resist that urge. A lot of people want to get out and work. Do some pruning. You can do some planting of the larger materials. You just got to stay away from the small perennials and annuals until spring comes, whenever it comes in Central Oregon. Usually late March, or early April.”
I found David Holstein pruning his trees in northeast Bend.
“It’s a nice day but I think we all have concerns about the other end of this. Too much sun is not necessarily a good thing. We need some rain,” Holstein said.
Gary English encourages gardeners who want to take advantage of the mild weather to complete their fall cleanup and water their recently established plants with a bucket or a hose.
“I don’t have a crystal ball but I would say winter is not over in Central Oregon. As you remember a couple of winters ago, we had that ‘Snowmaggedon’ and that was in late February.”
According to experts, it is okay to plant trees and shrubs any time of year.
But anything smaller ,even during a warm spell like we are having now, you are playing roulette with a killing frost.
