Wild Roses Blooming

Observation by Richard Thoman:

Wild roses blooming around Fairbanks. In spite of the cool weather in late May and early June this seems only a little later than usual.

LEO Says:

Wild roses are an important signal of seasonal change across Alaska. There are several posts in LEO Network back dating back to 2017 on the topic. We have shared this post with friends at UAF Arctic Research Center for their insights on phenology of wild roses Rosa acicularis in Interior Alaska.

AI Comment from GPT 4.1:

Several related posts have documented unusual late blooming of wild roses (Rosa acicularis) in Interior Alaska, especially during the fall months, which contrasts with the normal early summer blooming period highlighted in this observation. For instance, in Galena in October 2022 and Fairbanks in October 2020, observations of wild roses blooming well after the typical season were notable, with temperature thought to be a significant factor influencing the timing. Similar late blooming was also observed in Ester, Alaska in 2020, Willow in September 2020, and Fairbanks in 2018. In these posts, warmer than normal fall temperatures have been discussed as a possible driver, potentially resulting in a second flush of blooms outside the usual phenological window. The current observation reflects a blooming time just slightly later than usual despite a recent period of cool weather, which contrasts with the much more out-of-season blooms reported in previous years. Thus, while there have been several reports of wild roses blooming outside their normal season, this year's timing in Fairbanks remains close to historical averages, suggesting that conditions for rose phenology in 2025 may be less anomalous than in recent years.