In the botanical world, there is blizzard, the good; blizzard, the bad; and blizzard, the unknown.
The good: It’s moisture, and we need every drop.
“It’s good in all ways,” said Dan Johnson, the Denver Botanic Gardens’ native-plant curator, “unless it gets really heavy on trees that aren’t able to withstand it.”
He said he wasn’t expecting a repeat of the tree-busting storm of 2003, when 3 feet of heavy, wet snow downed limbs, split trunks and crushed grass.
With a mere foot or so of snow expected to pile up by this morning, “bulbs, all that stuff should be just fine.”
In fact, says one county extension agent, the deep snow will help plants shrug off the cold temperatures.
Carol O’Meara, a horticulture entomology agent for Boulder County Extension, says any perennials that were beginning new growth before the snow “will be happier having this blanket when the temperature drops.”
Early vegetables planted during the warm spell will be thrilled with it, she says.
Johnson says homeowners should keep an eye on their trees and simply shake or brush off any heavy snow loads, especially on evergreens, where snow can pile up on dense foliage.
The bad: Tree limbs that are downed or torn by the wind can be a danger in the short term and affect the tree’s health in the long term.
Any fruit trees that were already in full blossom likely won’t be filling your table with pies and cobblers this summer, O’Meara says. But as luck would have it, most varieties haven’t yet set blossoms — including her own peach tree.
The unknown: Will this snow reverse an impending drought that had horticulturists’ hands itching for a near-panic button?
“Oh, that’s a big question, isn’t it?” O’Meara laughed grimly, adding, “No.”
Before the storm, subsoil moisture was achingly low, even under the snowpack. It’s not that Thursday’s snow won’t help in the long term, but “a one-time event is not enough to overcome the massive dry conditions. We need a couple of these, spaced out over the next couple of months.”
At least the blizzard’s timing was good — before most trees leafed out.
“If this were October? If this were May? We’d be in trouble,” O’Meara said. “This is a great time for this snow.”
Susan Clotfelter: sclotfelter@denverpost.com
