#50 OUR FIRST STORE * (revised 6/6) "why tulsa?" part two

What about the climate, the weather, and plants that can grow there?

It is essential that we locate green garden gates stores in areas with favorable weather conditions for the springtime planting and fall planting seasons. Our research indicates that 50% if sales are lost with a day of constant rain and showers and that only 25% of those sales are recoverable if the grounds are totally covered and protected. Also, in the fall season, sudden cold weather and recurrent storms will decrease sales dramatically and shorten the season. In order to provide as many plant varieties as possible, we need a climate where they will tolerate and thrive.

Weather and climate in Tulsa and Tulsa County make nearly idea conditions for locating our first store. The gardening season starts early, in March and concludes for the spring at about mid June with an average of only 4 frost days in March diminishing to zero in the months of May and June. The wettest parts of the year are April through June, but because of the rapidly changing daily weather patterns of thunderstorms that average 50 days a year, mostly in the spring, a downpour will occur rapidly and quickly followed by sunshine for the majority of the business day. With those downpours, major floor events can occur. In 1984, a stalled weather front dropped 15 inches of rain overnight, killing 14 people, injuring 288, and destroyed 7000 buildings totaling 180 million dollars in damage. Tulsa now has the most extensive flood control systems in the nation. Our observations note that it is very common for gardeners to stand in the stores and wait out the downpour, returning to their shopping in the full sunshine and warmth of the rest of the day.

The Tulsa area does suffer from relatively high humidity during the spring season, but because of the consistent daily light winds on average of 7 miles per hour, the humidity is for the most part dispersed and not suffocating to gardening customers. The important element of this weather pattern is that this area can received nearly 80% sunshine during the planting season

Tulsa has exciting and challenging weather patterns that will need to be addressed with the building and sheltering of our customers of green garden gates. First, the downpours of rain and often accompanying cracks of lighting and deafening bolts of thunder can be dramatic and occur without notice. Customers will have to be sheltered from these storms for customers to continue to shop for plants. Also, Tulsa and Tulsa county ranks as the number one place for damaging hail in the United States. Plants also will have to always protected from this weather element. Finally, Tulsa and Tulsa County can receive tornadoes, infrequently but possibly. This is “tornado alley” There were 68 large and small tornadoes recorded in this area in the last fifty years. There needs to be adequate safeguards in place for customers and damage to structures in these tornado events.

The average growing season day in Tulsa and Tulsa County is a whopping 220 days nearly 100 days more than areas in the more northern Midwest. Further, if garden plants, shrubs and trees can withstand short periods of colder temperatures, the growing season can be extended even another six weeks. Because of these climate factors, a great variety of plants will grow and prosper. Tulsa is in a United States Department of Agriculture climate zone for plants as 6b, lowest temperatures from 0 degrees down to -5 degrees. Recently Tulsa metro has been upgraded to a 7a, with lowest temperatures from 5 degrees down to 0 degrees. These plant climate zones dramatically improve the ability to offer a larger selection of plant than any other area in the Midwest.

Another area of concern for plants survival in this area is the extreme heat in the summer months. It is not uncommon to have temperatures of 100 degrees or more for a number of days without significant or no rainfall. Tulsa, as a result of heat and air inversions has frequent ozone alerts where residents are advised to stay indoors and avoid driving. Massive and thorough plant irrigation is not as important in the spring months because of the soaking rainfall from thunderstorms, but as the late spring and summer approaches, the design of green garden gates must include an irrigation program that will be penetrating deep into the pots.