11 March 2021
This week I saw my first crocuses of 2021 at Homewood Cemetery on Tuesday 9 March. This month we’ve had several days over 60 degrees F. Are we having an early spring? Let’s look at The Crocus Report.
Since 2009 my blog has kept a record of crocus first-bloom dates in Pittsburgh’s East End. At first it was accidental. (I was excited by flowers and had to write about them.) Now I am intentional though unscientific. I don’t view the same crocuses every year and I don’t look for them every day. However, my crocus records show these bloom dates …
- March 11, 2009
- March 11, 2010
- March 14, 2011
- February 28, 2012 (the Hot year!)
- March 18, 2013
- March 22, 2014 (the Polar Vortex year! They bloomed for only one day because the deep freeze returned March 23.)
- March 18, 2015
- I don’t have a crocus record but it is probably March 7, 2016 based on temperature data, this post about coltsfoot, and feedback from Supriya who lives in Squirrel Hill. See comments. (I usually photograph them at Schenley Plaza or Phipps.)
- March 1, 2017
- February 23, 2018
- March 20, 2019
- March 21, 2020
- and now –> March 9, 2021
… that range from 23 February (2018, the February heat dome) to 22 March (2014, our Polar Vortex winter). Some dates repeat.
It may seem silly to write things down but the records are useful later. The past illuminates the present and could help predict the future, though it’s harder in this topsy-turvy world of climate change.
p.s. Gardeners have more accurate records than I do. They watch the same plants every year.
(photos by Kate St.John, calendar from timeanddate.com)
Anxiously waiting on mine. But you gotta be quick cause the deer and rabbits will mow them down if you are too slow to get the repellant on.
I was happy to see honeybees on my species crocuses yesterday. The species bloom earlier than the larger hybrids.
I really love the yearly records of these crocuses—they’re so adorable! I’m an international student who has been in Pittsburgh for half a year. Back in February two years ago, I saw many lovely crocuses blooming on the lawns in Cleveland, so I’ve been eagerly waiting to see them in Pittsburgh this February. Since I hadn’t spotted them yet (especially with the continuous snow this year), I started searching for information about their distribution in Pittsburgh. I’m so happy to find out that they do grow here, and that someone has kept this amazing record! I’m not sure what happened during the three recently missing years, I hope everything’s okay. Still, I feel lucky to have come across this website!
Tiffany, I’m glad you like the Crocus Report. I have been photographing them even in the years since then. Just haven’t had time to compile the list. There’s a crocus report from 2023 embedded in this recent article. https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2025/02/19/then-and-now-comparing-spring-this-week/