Map showing distance from Des Moines, IA to Rochester, MN
This week ( yesterday and today ) I took a trip to visit family in Rochester, MN which is also the city I obtained my horticulture degree. While visiting there I took note of the growing season and I noticed a huge difference there was when comparing the stage of the growing season there. Rochester is exactly 210 miles northeast of Des Moines, with distance being the only thing that is in between, there are no natural barriers such as mountains or lakes. In my travels I took note of certain species that had already bloomed and faded at my house in Des Moines. This method of observation also has a name in horticulture and thats phenology which is the study of the growing season. Going north on Interstate 35 I noticed lilacs and Crab apples re appearing again north of Highway 20 between Ames and Mason City. Then entering Minnesota Lilacs were even farther behind and had just started blooming there. Below is photos showing the difference
I have heard a saying that for every 100 miles is going back 1 week in the growing season, In southern Minnesota in the photo above are how crab apples looked in Rochester earlier today, These bloomed and long faded here Des Moines. Being in Rochester was like rewinding our growing season clock back to the 1st few days of May, 3 weeks ago. So why is there such a big difference between Des Moines and Rochester even with nothing separating them besides just 210 miles of land. To explain there are a couple of reason why there is a difference. Rochester had snowcover later into spring then Des Moines, so they already had a later start to the season. It has also been much cooler there, they have not seen an 80.F temperature yet and Des Moines has seen 5 including 1 90.F. These reasons are why there is a season variance between the two this year and in most to all years.
Above is a photo showing how Crab Apples here in south Iowa are long faded.
Lilacs May 22nd 2014 Rochester, MN
Above is how Lilacs looked in Rochester yesterday evening. The lilacs in Des Moines were at this stage at the end of April.
This is how the same species of lilacs looked in Des Moines this evening. I actually got to see Lilacs twice in a year now because of going north back into the area where they are blooming. While talking to family from my hometown area of Clayton,WI 120 miles farther then Rochester, they had said Rochester was much farther along they that area was, crab apples and lilacs were not even yet close to blooming in my hometown yet, which means they are at least 4 weeks, one month behind Des Moines growing season.
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