It’s really quite pretty in the grove this week. Lots of fully developed blooms can be seen for the next few days throughout the Rhododendron area. As usual, some places will be almost devoid of blooms, and other places will be almost profuse (if one could say that about this year’s show-it is a bit on the light side). There will be a large number of flower clusters that are spent and have dropped to the ground, and also a good number of blossoms that are just now opening up.
The “peak” has pretty much passed for this year, but the show is still worth the trip to Rhododendron State Park, and will be for another ten days or so for anybody looking for flowering rhododendrons at this unusually late date. The middle of July still holds for viewing the most blooms, but this year the “peak” came a week or so early.
It is always a mystery. One aspect that clearly affects the staying power of the blooms is the air temperature. If it is hot, the flowers will not last as long as if the air temperature is cooler. This is hard to predict any time, but summertime weather can be very difficult to pin down until it is on top of us all.
We had some hazy, hot and humid days this week followed by a mass of cool dry air last night, and more heat and humidity are headed this way if the forecast I saw is accurate. A mixed bag as usual, and not much chance of accurate prediction as to whether or not the current blooms will drop soon or stay longer. Another week and a half after “peak” is normal, even with such an early bloom.
Until next time,
Ted Lenk
Monadnock State Park
P.O. Box 181
Jaffrey, NH 03452
603 532 8862
