Well, not much change in the grove is visible this week as far as the flowerbuds are concerned. It still appears that the bloom time this year will be about the middle of July, as expected. The pictures shown are from Thursday, June 11, but I certainly could have used last week’s photos. Although we can’t see it too well, there is change happening inside those plants.
There is quite a bit of leafy growth which can be seen now, and that is normal for this time of year. This year’s growth will potentially produce next year’s flowers, but it doesn’t always happen. It always takes a lot of energy to make fruit (seeds in this case), and for one reason or another that amount of energy is not always available every year. Sometimes it takes several years to build up enough to flower heavily. I have seen it only twice in the last ten years when the bloom was more than seventy per cent of the potential.
On to a different subject: The issue of whether or not pets are allowed at Rhododendron State Park. It can be a confusing situation. No pets are allowed on the Rhododendron Loop including the Wildflower Loop. This is a state law. However, the trail that leads to Little Monadnock (which gives access to, but is actually not part of the Rhododendron Loop) does allow pets. All pets MUST be physically leashed while on NH State owned land, and it is the human companion’s responsibility to clean up and remove any waste generated.
The grove can be a beautiful and wondrous place just about any time of the year, blooms or not. During the warm season it can ( and is now) very buggy, so come prepared. We’ll send out another update next week, and you can also check out previous posts in the Bloom Report archive look at last week’s entry if you want.
Until then,
Ted Lenk
Monadnock State Park
P.O. Box 181
Jaffrey, NH 03452
603 532 8862
