seems like it's been a long, cold, wet winter in No Cal this year. I wonder if that's been bad for Rhodies blooming in the Redwoods NP area? Has anyone been there recently? I certainly want to visit Del Norte Coast park before it closes this Sept, that has always been a prime spot for Rhodies. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks
The following was posted by a participant on 5/27/11 at the Calphoto Yahoo Discussion group regarding Rhododendrons in Redwood State/National Park:
"I was able to speak to an NPS ranger this morning. Her reports were that cold
and rainy weather has retarded the rhododendron bloom. Some bloom has started
in the south-end of the park with early blossoms in the tall trees grove area
and along Hwy 101 in the Orick/Klamath area. Only a very few plants have yet
blossomed in the Crescent City area. Forecast for next week if for more rain in
the Crescent City area. Best to call ahead even a week from now before
committing to the drive."
I spent a few days checking out Del Norte over Memorial Day weekend and I can attest to the fact that the Rhodys are blooming later this year. I'd guess they were at about 10-20% bloom at best when I was there. Some spots were better than others but your really had to hunt to find a nice bloom. I don't know the growth rate all that well but I would imagine things are looking much better now. I'm toying with heading back up there the weekend after next but the drive time doesn't excite me. I will post a shot from the Damnation trail in the CANP gallery but I will warn you in advance that it is a comp you've probably seen many times before!
Just spent the day scouting out at the Damnation trail and along highway 199 close to the Hirouchi bridge. The best blooms are along the highway close to the bridge (apparently it's warmer near the highway) and between mile marker 16 and 19 south of Crescent City on 101.
I was here two years ago at the same time, and compared to then the bloom is pretty pathetic. Not worth a long drive in my view.
I had a long talk with a ranger who explained to me that it has just been too cold for much of a bloom. If there was a warm spell the rhodies could pop in just a few days. Also, there has been little fog. He said that it has to warm up in Medford for the fog to start reliably rolling in. So, if it really warms up in Medford and around here, in the coming week or two you could see some rhodies and fog. For now, no fog, overcast sky in the morning and patchy sun in the afternoon, and scant flowers.
Thanks for the update Tony-I had read the asnwers to your question at Calphoto and even had the car packed to head up tomorrow night hoping for fog over the weekend, but not so sure now...hmmmm....
Discussion
6 repliesseems like it's been a long, cold, wet winter in No Cal this year. I wonder if that's been bad for Rhodies blooming in the Redwoods NP area? Has anyone been there recently? I certainly want to visit Del Norte Coast park before it closes this Sept, that has always been a prime spot for Rhodies. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks
Kartik
"I was able to speak to an NPS ranger this morning. Her reports were that cold
and rainy weather has retarded the rhododendron bloom. Some bloom has started
in the south-end of the park with early blossoms in the tall trees grove area
and along Hwy 101 in the Orick/Klamath area. Only a very few plants have yet
blossomed in the Crescent City area. Forecast for next week if for more rain in
the Crescent City area. Best to call ahead even a week from now before
committing to the drive."
Sandy
Berkeley, CA
Natural History Wanderings
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandysteinman/
http://picasaweb.google.com/sandysteinman
I spent a few days checking out Del Norte over Memorial Day weekend and I can attest to the fact that the Rhodys are blooming later this year. I'd guess they were at about 10-20% bloom at best when I was there. Some spots were better than others but your really had to hunt to find a nice bloom. I don't know the growth rate all that well but I would imagine things are looking much better now. I'm toying with heading back up there the weekend after next but the drive time doesn't excite me. I will post a shot from the Damnation trail in the CANP gallery but I will warn you in advance that it is a comp you've probably seen many times before!
I was here two years ago at the same time, and compared to then the bloom is pretty pathetic. Not worth a long drive in my view.
I had a long talk with a ranger who explained to me that it has just been too cold for much of a bloom. If there was a warm spell the rhodies could pop in just a few days. Also, there has been little fog. He said that it has to warm up in Medford for the fog to start reliably rolling in. So, if it really warms up in Medford and around here, in the coming week or two you could see some rhodies and fog. For now, no fog, overcast sky in the morning and patchy sun in the afternoon, and scant flowers.