Gleni said:
It is interesting, Donald, about the first blooms. I suppose it is like learning to drive or something. The gears don't go into place easily but with a bit of practice you get it right it is easy sailing from then on.
(added later: was that a mixed metaphor?)
I tend to think variable weather along with maturity cause a lot of it. For that reason I think it's not necessarily always something the plant will outgrow because the factor causing it is not really in the plant. And even maturity is not proof against it either. A week of really cold weather or a week of really hot weather while the scapes and buds are growing wouldn't exempt a plant because of its age. Would it? Easy sailing might not be the case then. Just because you drive well on a paved highway in late spring doesn't mean you would be able to drive equally well when the roads get iced over. Or washed out. Or on muddy unpaved surfaces. A plant that could shift all those gears would be nice, but there may not be all that many that can manage it. A new seedling, unfortunately, has little to no experience.
