Platte Co. Extension Happenings
April 2026
By Taylor Cammack
Nebraska Extension Platte County - HLES Instructor While spring bulbs like crocus and daffodils are considered the earliest signs of spring, many times the earliest blooms are above your head. Some of our native trees are the earliest plants to flower. These trees provide early nectar for pollinators like bees.
Silver and red maples, which are common sights on street corners and farmsteads, have already started to flower in Columbus. Their small red buds have burst into fluffy yellow flowers and can be seen covering the branches of trees. Elms will closely follow the maples, with small yellow flowers that coat the whole canopy.
Cottonwoods are soon on their way to an early floral show, too. While their flowers are usually hard to see because of their spot high in the canopy, they produce fluffy flowers on a structure called a catkin. These flowers dangle like tiny, beaded curtains when they fully open and often have a silver or yellow cast. Once those flowers mature into the seeds, we find the landscape coated with the ‘cotton’ from the cottonwoods.
Several other plants that produce catkins, including aspen, willows, birches, and alder.
The exact day these plants start to flower can change from one year to the next. Phenology is the study and tracking of nature’s calendar- when plants flower, leaves emerge and animals make their yearly migrations. While this calendar generally follows ours, it often shifts depending on that year’s weather patterns. The two main factors that influence this shift are temperature and moisture. With the large temperature swings in February and lack of moisture, these conditions can change the exact day when we see the catkins on cottonwoods or the flowers on silver maples as compared to last year.
The flowering date is also different depending on your location in the state. The average flowering date along Highway 81 between Hebron, Columbus, and Yankton varies by an average of 10-14 days. While this is due to a change in latitude, the daily temperatures can also vary slightly along this route, causing earlier or later blooms.
The National Phenology Network is an organization dedicated to monitoring, recording, and providing data about nature’s calendar. The organization uses data to put together maps that show when spring arrives, when pests become active, and when spring ends. They also have a national citizen-science program where local plants can be observed and tracked when they flower and leaf out.
Another national phenology phenomenon closely watched by the public is the cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. There are over 2,500 Yoshino cherry trees surrounding the famous Tidal Basin and scattered through the grounds of Potomac Park. Multiple government agencies and local groups track and closely monitor the annual flowering of these plants, and thousands of people flock to see the phenomenon every year.
March 16-20 is Phenology week! So, if you’re out and about, look up and see the flowers already welcoming spring.
