Maine's growing season tries to strike balance with Mother Nature
The drastic drop in temperatures in the past week across Maine can’t be overstated — just one week ago the high temperatures were crawling into the lower 60s while Tuesday’s high in Portland was 33.
While this drastic shift might amount to little more than an inconvenience for many of us in Maine, the same can’t be said for some businesses in the state, where a 15-degree shift could spell the end to months of hard work.
One of those businesses is the Biddeford-based Pierson Nurseries. After last week’s stretch of warm weather, the owner of the nursery, Dale Pierson, was starting to get phone calls from anxious amateur arborists looking to get a head start on the planting season.
“The weather is further ahead, and so are our customers,” Pierson told the Portland Press Herald about the jump in temperatures. “The grass is green, the frost is gone, people want to plant. So it was great to take advantage of getting further ahead this year, but I hope we don’t pay the price.”
Just a few days later, the 125-acre nursery was struck with a cold spell — leaving Pierson between a rock and a hard place. If he were to keep the plants covered, they would enjoy the added heat and grow faster; if he were to uncover the plants the sudden cold would be sure to wipe out all of his hard work.
“This is a big temperature switch,” Pierson said. “There’s nothing we can do about 10 degrees colder than it should be out, or 15 or 20.”
Luckily for Pierson’s nursery, drastic shifts in temperatures aren’t expected in the coming week. With highs only reaching the 50s in parts of Maine, Pierson might be spared a worst-case scenario for his businesses.
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