We went to Westwell Gorse, the BBOWT reserve near Burford today, to see what impact the snow and ice earlier this month had on the emergence of the orchids there. Actually quite a lot; they were quite bedraggled, much less advanced than a year ago, and quite a number of leaves were damaged. Rabbits had also been active chopping the tops of two of the plants of which I took an accurate position last year. Here are a few comparisons of three Early Purple Orchid Plants (Left = 2017, Right = 2018):
At flowering time, as last year we will make a count to see if the frosts and snow have had a more lasting impact, though it looks as though the rabbits are the bigger problem.
Very few flowering plants was my experience in NE England too, back in the day.
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