Do you Know Your Ephemerals?
What is an Ephemeral Flower?
True to their name, spring-flowering ephemerals are plants that only bloom for a brief time.
Spring ephemeral flowers are nature’s gems after winter. These short-lived beauties are wildflowers that grow in woodlands in the early spring before the leaves on deciduous trees are open. They are called spring ephemerals because they have a relatively short blooming time.
Spring ephemerals complete most of their life cycle in the early spring before the trees and understory shrubs leaf out and take over most of the available light. These plants start growing roots in the fall and winter, to fully emerge above ground in the spring. This time of year is a tough time to be a growing plant--soil temperatures are low, the weather is unpredictable, and there are just a few pollinators foraging.
As temperatures increase and sunlight becomes less available in the late spring and summer, growth slows down, nutrients are stored underground, and the plants begin to die back.
Read more at: "Early blooming spring ephemerals welcome warmer weather"
True to their name, spring-flowering ephemerals are plants that only bloom for a brief time.
Spring ephemeral flowers are nature’s gems after winter. These short-lived beauties are wildflowers that grow in woodlands in the early spring before the leaves on deciduous trees are open. They are called spring ephemerals because they have a relatively short blooming time.
Spring ephemerals complete most of their life cycle in the early spring before the trees and understory shrubs leaf out and take over most of the available light. These plants start growing roots in the fall and winter, to fully emerge above ground in the spring. This time of year is a tough time to be a growing plant--soil temperatures are low, the weather is unpredictable, and there are just a few pollinators foraging.
As temperatures increase and sunlight becomes less available in the late spring and summer, growth slows down, nutrients are stored underground, and the plants begin to die back.
Read more at: "Early blooming spring ephemerals welcome warmer weather"
Test your knowledge by identifying the names of the Ephemerals shown here
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