February 18, 2011

Maybe it’s the recent warm weather, or Punxatawny Phil’s supernatural powers of foresight, but out on the golf course we’ve definitely noticed the days getting longer and the return of spring. We are now about sixty days removed from the shortest day of the year (December 21st), which means we’ve gained about an hour of daylight since Christmas. The change in day length has a profound impact in nature. All over the northern hemisphere plants are responding to longer days (or shorter nights, as the case may be).

Some plants are long-day plants, which require less than a certain number of hours of darkness. These species usually flower in spring or early summer. Some examples are: carnation, ryegrass, clover, pea, barley, lettuce, wheat, and turnip. Other plants react to shorter days, and begin to flower when nights get a little longer. A few examples of short-day plants are: poinsettia, coffee, tobacco, strawberry, cotton, rice, and sugarcane. Still, there are plants that flower regardless of how many hours of sun or darkness they receive. Roses, cucumbers, and tomatoes all produce flowers independently from the length of the day. It is suspected that they initiate flowering after reaching a certain growth stage, or possibly in response to a period of lower temperature.

On the golf course, we’ve noticed certain grasses and a few plants beginning to perk up. The grass-like leaves of crocuses are starting to push their way up through the still-frozen earth. In mulched or otherwise insulated gardens, you might even be able to push away the cover and see the tips of newly forming daffodils. Today’s sun will last just one minute longer than yesterday’s, but that single minute holds the promise of spring.

This post is contributed by Chis Lare, Assistant Superintendent