Phenology

Plants, animals and insects are influenced by their environment, and time certain events in their life cycles in relation to the weather and climatic conditions. The study of this is called phenology. Phenological indicator plants are markers of the seasons, and people often use them to predict when certain events, such as a particular insect hatch, are likely to occur. Thus the blooming or leafing out of a specific plant may be used as a signal that it is time to apply control measures against an anticipated pest.

The use of indicator plants is often more accurate for this purpose than timing events by a calendar since the plants and insects inhabiting a particular area will have been exposed to similar conditions and adjusted their life cycles accordingly. We have all observed how a plant may vary somewhat in its bloom time from year to year and locality to locality depending on weather conditions and microclimates.

To find out if the onset of spring sickness can be predicted by the blooming of other plants, members of the task force are making notes of what is in bloom when the first signs of spring sickness appear in their gardens. The results for 2000 are listed below.

Each entry in the table represents one garden, and gives the date spring sickness first appeared, the climate zone, the location and the status of indicator plants.