Here are some pictures we took late last week to show you how the mums are looking. It has been very hot here with the heat index running between 105-110 degrees. The mums can handle the heat however when the lows are about 75 degrees we will more than likely see some significant heat delay in the bud and bloom development. We usually see these kind of temps in August, not July.
I am not sure how the lows being this warm now will affect the mums. Bud development usually starts in early August so high night temperatures then is what delays the blooming. If the lows cool off in August we may not see any delay. Either way, we won’t know how it will affect the mums until later.
We stuck our poinsettia cuttings the first two weeks of July and will start planting them the second week of August. Again with the extreme heat, we are having to keep a very close eye on the cuttings to make sure we keep them hydrated until they can finish rooting out. Like always, we stuck the cuttings in Oasis cube strips. As you can see in one of the pictures the newest cuttings are struggling to stay hydrated in the heat despite being sprayed every 15 minutes. Don’t worry, that is completely normal.