ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester has broken a record for being the latest into the fall season without seeing any snowfall. The unusually warm November weather has even prompted lilacs to bloom at Highland Park. News10NBC explored the impact this could have on the city’s beloved foliage.

Jeff Schwartz, a lifelong Rochester resident, said he’s surprised at the late blooming. “No, I’ve never seen it this late. Where we still have flowers bloom,” he said.

Katie Henion, another Rochester resident, shared mixed feelings. “I mean, first thought, I’m just like, oh, that’s pretty, I love that. I wish it stayed all year. I hate the cold, so I like when it gets put off, but it’s probably not good. It’s probably a bad sign if the seasons are off.”

Florist and gardener Samantha Dattilo says this is a first for her as well.

“I actually do landscaping as another job. I work under a master gardener, and all the season we were talking about how everything was blooming, and it was absolutely wild. The weeds were growing, things were sprouting. There’s been new growth on trees that shouldn’t be there this time of year. It’s unheard of for me,” she said.

Dattilo said she’s concerned about the potential effects on plants.

“It concerns me. The plants are clearly confused. Thinking it’s spring for some reason, I’m worried it’s going to confuse their dormancy cycles,” she said. “And again, I’m not an expert on dormancy cycles or anything like that, but I do know that, like, when our agricultural trees get a hard frost on their buds, it affects the crop. So I can imagine this is going to have some kind of implications for next year.”

Dormancy cycles are essential for plants to survive through winter and into spring, similar to animals entering hibernation.

“If this continues to be a thing for the rest of forever,” Dattilo said. “Then that’s another thing. We’re going to lose a lot of species, a lot of diversity here because they need their dormancy periods to survive. These junipers for example, that people buy and then they’re like, why is it dying? It’s because it’s not a houseplant. It needs dormancy. It needs to be cold. It needs to freeze.”

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