Go Home, Buttercups, You’re Drunk

by Mary Krupka

I was strolling through the yard a few days ago and exclaimed aloud when I saw my Deer Deterrent Daffodils™ suddenly showing fresh, foot-long sprouts. Huh. Then, further down the hill on that same stroll, I spotted the unmistakable springtime yellow of a blooming Early Buttercup (ranunculus fascicularis, pictured). Wha?? Perhaps YOU have noticed the lilac bush in your yard starting to pop out a few off-season purple buds. What is happening???

While unusual, late fall blooming from “confused” spring plants is not a sign of the apocalypse. Now, I’m not here to say definitively that this is not in some way related to scary factors (ahem: climate change). I’m just sharing that it’s not completely unheard of and actually has a name!

The phenomenon many of us are observing right now is called “remontancy” or “remontant blooms.” After flowering is done each year, most of our spring-blooming friends set their buds for the following spring and essentially sit in hibernation during the summer, fall, and winter waiting for the weather to say, “WAKE UUUUP!!”

Remontant blooms occur when weather stressors shake up the typical growth environment, leading to plants that wake up a bit confused. When intense periods of heat or drought are followed by periods of rain or cooler temperatures, the buds are tricked into thinking they’ve slept all winter and it’s time to shine! I’m no meteorologist, but the intense environmental triggers I just described sound about right for what my yard experienced in Zone 5 this summer.

October lilacs are a treat, but it’s important to know that those same buds won’t bloom again in spring 2027. The plant isn’t hurt and there will almost certainly be other buds on the same plant that *do* bloom, but there may be fewer in total for that particular season. Overall though, nothing to worry about.

Until next time, gather ye (remontant) rosebuds while ye may!

Mary Krupka is a Cary-based TLC member and eclectic DIY enthusiast who is in the process of restoring her Conservation@Home property to a magical bluebird paradise filled with native prairie and woodland plants.