Seedlings Survive Tropical Storm Debby

 I went out today to check on storm damage, but noticed fresh tire tracks that led me to conclude FWC folks were on the job. 

I did check the second Scrub Lupine planting area and found all of the seedlings appeared to have survived after surviving the hot spring weather.

Let's see if they survive until next spring and grow to maturity. 

I checked on the Clitoria fragrans, too. It seems to be holding on, but could use some new material.

The rain also exposed more formerly buried trash, I will return to collect.

I noticed that in the east-west corridor near the second lupine planting area there is an abundance of Septic Weed/Coffee Senna, probably brought in by mowing equipment, Sleepy Orange likes that, as I recall.

  

Some Lupine Seedlings Survive Until The Start of the Rainy Season; Most Do Not

 I made a quick survey of the lupine patches in the afternoon summer heat today.

I stopped first at the second planting area and found eight of the 12 seedlings that emerged this year still alive, though some were less robust looking than others.

I headed north to the call of a Northern Bobwhite somewhere in the fencerow. It was the first one I had heard there in a few years.

The fire lane appeared to have been recently mowed, exposing a lot of small debris that I will deal with in cooler parts of the day.

I finally reached the first planting area and found one lone surviving seedling among the 64 I had flagged earlier this year. It was at the northern edge of the east-west path.

I will come back later to remove the flags/

I was thinking I had kept numbers in previous years, but apparently I did not.

A quick word about June weather.

The National Weather Service, this was the fourth warmest June on record with an average temperature of 84.4 F. Official rainfall was 7.4 inches, but at my house,, which is about halfway between Gilbert Field and the preserve, I recorded 8.9 inches.

Despite Record Dry May, Some Lupine Seedlings Survive

 My is always a tough time for Lupine seedlings because of the typical heat and lack of rainfall.

According to the National Weather Service in Ruskin, the average temperature in Winter Haven last month was 82.9 F, which is the hottest since the station began keeping records in 1941.

Rainfall was 2.61 inches, but most of that fell in a single day in the middle of the month. There has been no measurable precipitation at my home a mile from the preserve  since May 16.

In the first planting area, 8 of the 65 seedlings flagged earlier this year are still alive.

In the second planting area, 10 of the 12 flagged seedlings are surviving.

In the third planting area, which is the worst managed of the site, all four seedlings are dead.

That means that so far the survival rate is   about 20 percent, which is encouraging. 

Rainfall is predicted this week. 

Spring 'Arrives With Some Color And The Promise Of More

 

Spring here officially began earlier this week. Though the landscape still looks a bit dreary because of the current dry conditions--only recorded 0.15 of an inch of rain this month despite encouraging weather predictions accompanying each cold front--there are some hints of color here and there.

Some of it is showier than others.

 

Dry May Takes Toll On Lupines

 

When it comes to lupines, May is the cruelest month.

Few of t he seedlings that emerged last winter are still alive.

It would be interesting to know more about the plants that still survive, including one healthy specimen that was not flagged and may have emerged late.

The die-offs are a regular occurrence and more likely this year. This has been one of the driest Mays on record, according to the National Weather Service.

  

Post-Irma Report From Preserve

I'm still finding some effects from Hurricane Irma, though there was no serious damage.
I found a couple of downed pine trees in the north tract.
The disturbance of the vegetation also exposed a tire lodged in some palmettos that I had never found before. I removed it.
I have made a few checks of the south tract and have found no damage so far.
I also saw some flagged areas that may indicate the boundaries of the next burn units.
Another observation is that for some reason fall wildflowers are only slowly appearing.
One plant that is notable by its absence is Scrub Blazing Star, which is usually common along the north-south path in the middle of the preserve. This year I have seen only two.
The only thing that has changed is that there was some bush-hogging that may have been preparation for a future burn by preparing a wider gap in the vegetation. The effect, as usual with this kind of mechanical work, has been to encourage the proliferation of Natal grass.
It is possible the Natal grass has outcompeted the Liatris.

Drought Stress Affects More Species

During a visit today I noticed the effects of the current drought.
Months of high temperatures, lack of rainfall and moisture-sucking winds have taken  their toll.
None of this year's crop of Scrub Lupine seedlings appear to have survived. Only a handful were still alive when I checked earlier this month.
However, the effect is visible in established adult plants of other species.
Today I observed brown foliage on Bonamia grandiflora,  Persea humilis and Polygonella myriophylla.
In addition I saw only a handful of butterflies, which is unusual for this time of year.
The plants will certainly survive, just as they did in previous droughts, I suppose.
The last serious dry spell to hit the area was in the 1998-2000 period, which is before this was state property. so I don't know what happened.
When I first visited the site in 2002, everything appeared healthy, thanks to the resumption of normal rainfall.

Drought takes toll on lupines

The hot, windy and mostly rainless spring this year has taken a toll on what looked like a promising batch of Scrub Lupine seedlings that emerged earlier this year.
Everyone expects mortality because of a combination of the hostile spring weather and the fragility of this plant, but this year was particularly harsh.
Out of more than 100 seedlings, if I remember the count correctly, only a handful have survived so far and I don't expect much rain for another month or two.
Another setback.