Amid Record Warmth, Some Plants Are Blooming Just Days Before Winter
Updated Wednesday, Dec. 16 12:05 p.m.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Winter is right around the corner, but at the Queens Botanical Garden, everything is coming up roses.
Just days away from the official start of winter, roses are still in bloom amid unseasonably warm temperatures. Forsythia and crocuses are making appearances quite a bit early, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported.
A cherry tree was blooming, and Gennadyi Gurman of the Queens Botanical Garden explained what might be happening.
"The weather's nice. It's really beautiful. The temperature is warm. So it got a little confused. It thinks it's spring," Gurman told Gusoff. "We've had some forsythia bushes, some azaleas and even some trees blossoming."
But does that mean there will be trouble this spring, Gusoff asked.
"I don't think so. I think it'll be fine. We get these periodic warm spells every now and again," Gurman said. "If it lasts for a few days, some of these trees will test the waters, like 'Is it spring yet? Is it spring yet?' That kind of stuff."
Karl McKoy, of the Queens Botanical Garden, says to make use of the mild weather to lightly prune back roses, but don't go too far -- the plants think spring has really sprung.
"They'll think it's time to get going again and they'll start growing -- you don't want that, " McKoy said. "You need them to go to sleep naturally before winter actually sets in.
Bulbs could be impacted, because they need a certain amount of time to be dormant, but most other plants should be fine, Gurman told Gusoff.
In Glen Rock, New Jersey, Walter Perry of Perry's Florist sees, too, a lot of flowers being fooled by the warm weather.
"They're like small computers in themselves, sensing what's going on in nature," he told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "They think they have a change, and they get fooled like we do."
Perry is receiving a lot of questions from customers.
"And my general advice has been is just to let Mother Nature do what she does," he said.
Even if we get a sharp cold snap, Perry suspects most plants will be fine.
Click here to check the weather forecast and see how long these warm temperatures will last.