On April 19, 2018, I observed both of our Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) trees. Weather conditions were sunny with mild cloud coverage, and the temperature was around 43F. Both plants had approximately 101-1000 breaking leaf buds and had approximately 101-1000 breaking flower buds. There are still no open flowers, however leaves have begun to open and show initial growth. Hopefully, with more consistent warm weather we can begin to see these plants blossom. (Post by Zakk Moorman)
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On April 12th I observed our two Northern Spicebush trees. It was a sunny day with very little cloud cover, and the temperature was around 70 degrees fahrenheit at 2:00 P.M. when I made my observations. Both plants had approximately 101-1000 breaking leaf buds and had approximately 101-1000 breaking flower buds. There are still no visible leaves or flowers yet, but hopefully with consistent warm weather in the forecast they will develop soon. (Post by M. Cooley)
While the warmer weather (upper 50's) has been favorable this week, unfortunately it doesn’t appear to have done much for the spicebushes we’ve been monitoring. Both plants still have between 1,001 to 10,000 breaking leaf buds, however, none of them have completely leafed out. Hopefully the 1,001 to 10,000 breaking flower buds will lead to some color in the near future.
Early morning Saturday, I observed my team's Northern Spicebush for new phenophase changes. It was sunny and 44° Farhenheit. In the beginning of the week we had snow and cold temperatures, by mid week it had warmed up and rained a bit. The two Northern Spicebush didn't seem to mind. More breaking leaf buds had broke through since the previous observation week, but no visible leaves yet. Most of the flower buds broke open, exhibiting the reproductive parts of flowers. The old fruits finally dropped off, creating space for new growth. (Post by L. Cort)
On March 22nd, 2018 I observed the two Spicebush plants at Selu in Radford, Virginia. Weather conditions were cold, approximately 36 degrees Fahrenheit with clear skies and several inches (3-4 roughly) of snow coverage on the ground. This was a different snowfall occurrence than observed last week and is very different from our initial observation of these plants. Conditions were similar to the previous week’s observations with the bushes still containing 1001-10000 breaking leaf buds and it still shows no signs of open leaves. The plants still display 1001-10000 flower buds with no open flowers present. Each spicebush contained 11-100 fruits with an estimated 95% having reached maturity. All of these fruits have been left over from the previous year .With the warming temperatures steadily approaching we may begin to see swift development in the upcoming weeks of observation. Northern Spicebush showing limited signs of activity.
During week 3 of monitoring of our two Northern Spicebush plants there was an overcast with a temperature of 34 degrees Fahrenheit. There was also approximately 2-3 inches of snow on the ground from snowfall earlier in the week. Each tree has approximately 1001-10000 breaking leaf buds, with no leaves unfolded yet. There was also 1001-10000 flower buds with no open flowers present. Both Spicebushes still had 11-100 fruits with all of them having 95% maturity. All of these fruits were the mature fruits left over from last year. Hopefully the weather will begin to warm in the coming weeks and the flower and leaf buds will begin to burst.
February 26th, 2018 was the first cooler day in almost a week where the temperatures weren't in the mid 70's. It was a high of 48*F and overcast when I went to monitor both of the spicebushes. On both of the bushes it was apparent that there was between 101-1,000 breaking leaf buds!!! Unfortunately, it looks like these breaking leaf buds are far from becoming actual leaves. On the flipside, neither of these spicebushes had older mature leaves on them, however, they both had older mature fruits still connected to the branches (11-100 fruits with >95% maturity) from last season. Both spicebushes, however, seem to be more than ready to want the warmer weather back, with 101- 1,000 flower bud clusters just waiting to open in the weeks to come. (Post by Nicholle Johnson) Breaking Leaf buds of the Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) 02-26-2018 photos by Nicholle Johnson
Monitoring is conducted at Selu Convservancy, Radford University's research and educational property approximately fifteen minutes away from campus. The property is about 400 acres of mixed vegetation types, with gravel roads leading you to different areas. Located along the roadside leading you to the retreat center are the two Northern Spicebush's (Lindera benzoin) being monitored. The road has slight canopy cover allowing sunlight in. The surrounding trees consists of pine, oak, and a few other tree species. The ground cover is mostly grass with scattered smaller shrubs. One of our spicebush (Lindera benzoin) has a small Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) stem growing along side of it. On February 20, 2018, the first set of observations were taken late morning, mid day. The weather was nice and sunny, with clear skies all around. It was 72 degrees Fahrenheit with 0% chance of precipitation. With an abnormal amount of warm weather and a decent amount of rain the week prior, the existing phenophases were taking advantage. The two Northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin) were consistent with showing the same phenophases. Both showed visible signs of flower buds and leaf buds (not "breaking"). The leaf buds are more cylindrical with a pointed tip, while the flower buds are round and usually in clusters. Neither of the phenophases are open and the leaf buds were covered with brown scales from their dormant, winter stage. Some of the flower buds lost their scales and were showing a nude, fleshy color. The leaf buds are not broken (showing green tips), therefore they are not counted in this weeks data. The flower buds are swollen and are counted in this weeks data. I estimated more than 1,000 flower buds present on both spicebush. On both spicebush, there were roughly 11-100 fruits present and all of them (>95%) were ripe. These fruits were left over from last growing season and had not dropped off. (Post by L. Cort)
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April 2018
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