A Very Continental Spring

Anyone who's been around the last few months has probably noticed the very abrupt transition between winter and spring this year. The 'Beast from the East' meant we had fewer warm spells in early and mid-Spring than usual, and was followed in late April / early May by a blast of heat which broke records on the bank holiday. In my garden, we went from regular night-time frosts to no frosts with basically no transitional period in between.

This is a very continental climate pattern. Great Britain, being an island at high latitudes, has an oceanic climate moderated by the sea but very influenced by atmospheric conditions like the polar jet stream. In the winter and spring we can switch between blasts of cold arctic air and mild air from the south in days. A continental climate, far from the sea, tends to have colder winters, hotter summers, and a much clearer break between the two.

Despite the late arrival of good weather, a lot of the plants in the garden have actually been pretty happy. My Actinidia kolomiktas have never had it so good. A. kolomikta, also called 'Arctic Kiwi', is one of the northern-most kiwi species, and can withstand very cold temperatures when dormant. Unfortunately, though, once it starts growing in spring the new shoots are not very frost tolerant.

The last three years, the plants haven't even made it to the top of the arches they're planted against and every year the flowers (and fruit) have been lost to frost. This year, they held off on growing until after the Beast and are growing a mile a minute. Flowers are open, fruits are forming, and I might finally get to taste some hardy kiwis!

Below are some pictures of the flowers. The species is dioecious (there are male and female plants), and most commonly the males are grown as ornamentals because of their green, pink and white coloured leaves. You can clearly see the difference in the flowers if you look.

Female A. kolomikta flowers

Male A. kolomikta flowers

The scent is lemony and definitely noticeable. It wafts through the air under the arches and catches you as you walk through.

I think the plants have earned a reprieve from the threat of removal. I am hoping that eventually they'll get big and dense enough that a bit of frost doesn't knock back everything, just the outer layer(s)...