A cold winter and late spring plays a treacherous game with Reno plant life, threatening blooms and creating losses.

Despite deciduous trees already in full bloom and annuals and perennials beginning to flower, partially due to an unusually high precipitation winter, odd weather has already caused damage, and if it keeps up, is all too likely to cause permanent results.

“It was too cold, too long, too soon, too fast,” said Jeri Schneider, the color buyer at Moana Nursery, discussing the effects of the recent climate on local plant life. “Everything took a hit.”

Some took it harder than others. Most spring planting begins in mid-April. However, already, in the first five days of May, Reno has seen warm temperatures of 75 F and chilly lows of 37 F. These fluctuations create a paradox: while the warm weather causes plants to bloom, the low temperatures can create freeze damage, sometimes killing the plant completely.

Some of the worst damage may have been caused just two weeks ago, when locals saw a mixture of snow, hail, sleet

Tracey Cabot browsing for new plants to replace some of those lost over the winter.

and rain. While this was occasionally interrupted by brief bouts of blue skies and sun, the plants had already felt the effects of the snow and cold.

“This weather is terrible for them,” said Christina Astrada, referencing the plants in the surrounding gardens. A grounds maintenance worker, level 3, at the University of Nevada, Reno, Astrada is responsible for the maintenance of Hilliard Plaza. “I think we’re gonna lose a lot of our blooms.”

According to Schneider, people have been losing far more than blooms; some have lost rose bushes that had been around for far over the ten-year mark, and plenty of trees throughout the area have dried out and died altogether. Plant loss, however, is not the only threat: many fruit trees may not deliver this year.

Blooms on an apple tree.

“Let’s say your apple trees are in bloom and you’re waiting for the bees to come along and those bees going from bloom to bloom, from tree to tree, is what sets fruit,” said Jim Stanton, a general manager at Moana Nursery. “If we dip down into the 28 to lets say 24 degree mark, those blossoms can be damaged and we won’t end up with blossoms- well, fruit set.”

The Farmers Almanac calculates ideal planting times based off of the most recent frost, in hopes of preventing plant loss. According to their estimates, certain hardier plants could be planted in April, however most vegetables should not be planted in the ground until middle to end of May.

“I started two weeks ago,” said Mike Mechanic of the Great Basin Community Food Cooperative, when asked about

A cart of starter vegetable plants in Moana Nursery.

spring planting. “You kind of risk it starting early, ’cause of the freezes.”

While most local gardeners know to expect unusual weather patterns, this past season has been particularly severe.

“It will be interesting to see if the root system is okay, but the plants above ground are pretty toasted,” said Tracey Cabot, a local gardener who has seen a number of plants die over the winter and into the spring.

With Nev. having been in a drought for the past several years, it is unusual to see so much green on hillsides, said Stanton. This years surprising amount of rain may continue, according to the Farmers Almanac, which forecasts May to be wetter than normal and summer to be cooler and slightly more rainy than usual. Planting will soon commence in force and farmers markets will likely not see an effect in business, said Mechanic.

Despite losses, there is still high hope for the coming months.

“Anything could happen,” said Cabot.

Watch an interview with Jim Stanton:

Jennifer, an employee at Moana nursery waters rows of strawberries.

Christina Astrada, a grounds maintenance worker at UNR.

Swiss chard planted outside of the Great Basin Community Food Cooperative.