One of my favorite horticultural sights is confused plants that flower out of their typical bloom time sequence. The wonderful term we use to describe this phenomenon is "remontant," which is derived from the French verb “remonter,” and translates to “rising again” or “coming up again.” In this case, it is used to describe plants that bloom more than once a year. We also use terms like “recurrent” or “repeat bloomer”. In the world of plants and horticulture, this trait or ability is considered extremely desirable because people just love blooms and flowers!
Remontant 'Jane' magnolia with blooms
Another 'Jane' magnolia bud beginning to expand
There is a curious mistaken conviction that if a plant blooms out of season, the plant is signaling it’s getting ready to die! Plants that previously bloomed and are blooming again are thought to be in a last-ditch effort to make seeds to ensure its progeny can survive into the future! This reblooming behavior can be and often is a perfectly acceptable plant response to environmental stimuli created by certain weather trends.
Magnolia x brooklynensis 'Yellow Bird' with remontant blooms
Magnolia x brooklynensis 'Yellow Bird' beautiful terminal bud swelling getting ready to bloom!
Spring-blooming plants create or “set” buds for the following year, soon after they have finished blooming in the current season. Typically, those buds stay in a dormant state through the rest of summer, fall, and winter to be ready to burst open at the proper time the following spring or summer. However, in some plants (e.g. rhododendrons, lilacs, roses, magnolias, weigelias, hydrangeas, forsythia, irises, etc.) when bud set is followed by intense environmental stressors (e.g. heat, drought), strange bloom happenings may occur. When cooler periods of rain or mild temperatures supplant those intense stressors, certain plants sense this as “a winter rest,” buds then break dormancy, and flower buds…POP!
Magnolia x brooklynensis 'Yellow Bird' showing a remontant bloom
Magnolia x brooklynensis 'Yellow Bird' with remontant bloom
There is no doubt that we have experienced intense periods of heat and drought in Northeast Ohio this season. Thankfully, remontant blooming doesn’t usually occur throughout the entire plant. Instead, it is a scattering of a few buds here and there causing flashes of color that can make those “dog days” of summer a little more enjoyable! However, remember that buds blooming in the summer or fall, will not bloom again in the spring. They merely did what they were designed/destined to do and that is to put on a floral display to attract pollinators for seed production— the only problem… it was just a little bit too early!
Magnolia x brooklynensis 'Yellow Bird' with remontant bloom