Meteorologist Dave Epstein is our go-to person for pressing weather questions on everything from winter blizzards to summer droughts. He’s also a horticulturist, meaning he’s an expert in anything that grows leaves and flowers. GBH's Morning Edition asked our audience for weather and gardening questions, and Dave graciously answered them on the air. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Have a gardening or weather question for meteorologist Dave Epstein? Tweet him @GrowingWisdom, email us at thewakeup@wgbh.org, or text 617-300-2008.
We are quickly moving toward springtime. Could Dave talk about when is the best time to clean up the garden in spring to help support pollinators and garden health? —Laura, via email
Until nights are a bit warmer, pollinators can lay dormant in plants, Epstein said. Supporting them is easy: Wait a bit longer to clean things up.
“The longer you can tolerate waiting, the better it is for the pollinators,” Epstein said. “Until it really warms up, until we have nights which are well into the 40s, which probably doesn't happen until later on in April, some of the pollinators are still sleeping.”
For instance: People who have perennials with long stocks in their yards often provide a winter home for solitary bees and other insects.
“If you cut those down and chop them up and throw them away, you may be damaging the home for the little bee which was hanging out there all winter, or other sort of beneficial insects,” Epstein said. “So that's why you want to leave it as long as possible. I have to admit I leave some of my garden, but some I’ve got to uncover because things are emerging. So try to do as long as you can.”
Is it cold out lately, or is it just me being a baby? —Morning Edition co-host Jeremy Siegel
After unseasonably warm weather for most of the winter, Epstein said he welcomes 40-degree highs in March. People sometimes have odd expectations for March weather, he said.
“I think our expectation of this month is so unrealistic,” he said. “Everyone's like, ‘it’s not supposed to be this cold.’”
Looking ahead at the forecast, Epstein said Boston-area residents can expect highs in the 40s for the next week, with intermittent breeze and clouds, perhaps some precipitation.
“There might be some rain, there might be a little snow. It's what March does,” Epstein said.
He offered some advice or anyone who may be weary of March.
“It's what early spring is. I'm not telling people what to do, but if you embrace it and look at it and go: ‘this is the transition, this is the light growing, in another couple of weeks we're going to be at 12 hours of daylight," he said. "Birds are out there making the noise in the morning. If you look at the maple trees, they're beginning to open up, the red maples. The sap is flowing, small little bugs are starting to emerge. I mean, that's early spring. And if it happens slowly, that's great because that's what nature wants.”
