Late Blooming Rose

Observation by Carrie Ann Brophil:

This picture was taken at South Rolly Lake Campground on Sept 26, 2020. This is in the Willow Area of the state.

Comments from LEO Editors:

This observation has been shared with the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Warm fall temperatures may be signaling some woody plants to bud for a second time during the year. In 2019, Justin Fulkerson, lead botanist for the University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Conservation Science described this phenomena in an Anchorage Daily News article reporting on late blooming willows.

Average annual temperatures across the state are increasing, as seen in the charts below showing mean annual temperature departure and the total change in mean seasonal and annual temperatures, both measured between 1949 and 2016. This year, temperatures in the nearby town of Talkeetna trended warm, with some days in August reaching a high of 80 degrees. Erica Lujan