Plants I'm Growing--First Blooms: Michelia Yunnanensis, Creeping Phlox, "Pink Lady" Apple, Pink Crabapple

First blooms of 2011 on a number of plants in the garden today (finally the rain has stopped). Flowers that had been holding back seem finally convinced there's a point to offering up their pollen. Flowers on Michelia yunnanensis, "Pink Lady" apple, and our pink crabapple all opened today. Some of the creeping phlox in the garden started blooming on Sunday (March 27).

Michelia yunnanensis (first photo) is a small relative of the magnolias native to Yunnan Province in China. It's finally taken off after a shaky start three years ago. It's covered with flowers this year and looks set to grow strongly. I love the deep cinnamon-colored covers to the buds and the creamy white flowers that contrast with the brown covers and the plant's deep green leaves. This plant bloomed on April 1 in 2009 and on March 22 in 2010, calculating botanical years of 355 and 373 days, which average to 364 days, or very close to a year by the sun. 

The "Pink Lady" apple bloomed on March 23 in 2009 and on March 30 in 2010, although in 2010 it bloomed a second time in October after bearing almost no fruit--odd behavior caused by the very cold summer we had last year. "Pink Lady" calculated years of 373 and 364 days, which average to 368.5 days--somewhat long, but I have only three years of data so far. My hypothesis is that over the years, all the plants in the garden (at least those native to this area) will calculate average years very close to actual years. 

The deep pink crabapple in the garden bloomed on March 26 in 2009 but on April 23 last year, almost a month later. I think 2010 was anomalous. The tree calculated years of 393 days and 340 days--both the shortest and longest years any plant have had since I started keeping track, but even these average to 366.5 days--very close to an actual year.