Confused Cherrylaurels

Here's a few shots of Prunus laurocerasus, or cherrylaurel, in Union Square Park.


As you can see, these plants, which typically bloom in the spring, have a fair amount of flowers on it. This phenomena in not unheard-of among spring-blooming plants -- I see
it most often with saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana). The dreaded Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford') does this, too.



Plants have, like people and animals, their own circadian rhythms, triggered day-length. I mentioned this before, when discussing redbud (Cercis canadensis).

Sometimes, plants that flower in the spring will mistakenly bloom in the fall. Which, when you think about it, makes perfect sense: The daylengths in October are similar to those in April.