The Mesquite Trees Around Lubbock Are Filthy Damn Liars

A bit of old farmers wisdom did not hold true this year.

It's A Sign

I saw messages this weekend from friends that the mesquite trees were budding out. This, according to people "in he know" means that Spring is officially here. Hopefully none of you saw the same information and went out and got plants.

Dig Deeper

When the mesquite trees "bud out" it's supposed to mean that the chance for frost is over. Now I truly believe in the harmony of nature, but common sense tells me, "how does a plant get a weather forecast?". I think it's far more likely that the mesquite trees bloom at a certain time when we're usually past the time for a frost.

Freeze This Week

They missed the date by a bit this year because though the trees were budded out this weekend, we hit a low of 28 on Monday. That is absolutely a hard freeze and more than enough to kill some sensitive plants.

We Forgive You Mr. Mesquite Tree

Not everyone can be accurate when it comes to predicting weather, and I'm sure the same is true for plants because, uh, they don't have brains and radar, and the other tools necessary to accurately predict weather.

So Where Are We?

It looks like the mesquite trees missed it by *that* much. The coldest temperature on the horizon seems to be a low of 38 on Tuesday. I would still say that almost anything can happen in Lubbock, but you're probably good to go with planting now.