DENVER — A warm, dry winter across the Front Range is nudging plants and insects out of their normal rhythms. Scientists are more concerned for the insect population.
“We are at an average of 43 degrees, which is the warmest on record and also the fifth driest on record,” Laura Swain, assistant curator of native plants at the Denver Botanic Gardens, said.
Swain said many trees and shrubs form small packets of stored energy called buds that produce leaves and flowers in spring. Buds are protected by bud scales that form in the fall, but the warm weather could cause those buds to break prematurely, pushing out flowers or green leaves. If a cold snap follows, the newly exposed tissue can die back, leaving gardeners to prune dead tips, but not usually harming entire plants.
“Once spring finally rolls around, the plants will still survive. They’ll still leaf out as normal,” Swain said. “We might have to prune out a little bit of dead wood in them, but it wouldn’t really impact our spring displays.
Swain did recommend watering any newly planted plants and trees, so they can establish a healthy, winter root system.
“One of the ways to do that is to just run a hose from the house on a really slow drip and leave it at the base of a tree or a new tree or shrub and let it run for a couple hours,” she said. “That actually will reduce the evaporative potential of running a sprinkler, and it will give the ground a nice soaking.”
The erratic winter is affecting animals as well, especially the smallest and most prolific of the ecosystem.
“[Insects] go in a sleeping mode. They want to go and stop their metabolism, and slow it down,” Francisco Garcia, director of research and conservation at the Butterfly Pavilion, said. “When you have really cold temperatures, the insects get to be nice, cozy, and sleepy.”
Alternating cold and warm periods can rouse insects early, prompting them to forage for flowers that aren’t yet available and depleting energy reserves before true spring arrives.
“Invertebrates are vital for all life on Earth,” Garcia said. “If insects are decreasing, then pollination is going to decrease, and recycling of nutrients is going to decrease. If they decrease, many animals will not have much food, and they are also going to decrease. This is like a domino effect where invertebrates are the first chip in that line. And if this one falls, the rest of the chips will fall down also.”
For those looking to help out the insect population in their own yards, Garcia recommended providing gardens with diverse, native plants that provide shelter for bugs to survive the winter.
