I'm in NYC. The weather got really nice for awhile, but in the last few days it got nastier and colder. The temperature dropped back into the low 50s and probably hit 40s at night. I was under the impression that they would remain in dormancy at that temperature. Are your VTFs starting to come out of dormancy now despite the volatile temperatures so far?
"I was under the impression that they would remain in dormancy at that temperature."
is totally irrelevant..not something you should even worry about..
no, they don't technically remain dormant at those temps..
yes, the plants wont grow *quickly* when the temp is in the 40's or 50's..but that's also irrelevant!
What is most important is the plants be outside in those 40 and 50 degree temps so that they *can* come out of dormancy slowly..they might not do much, visually, in March and April, but what you *cant* see happening is still happening, and its very important..what you cant see happening is that the plants are slowly "waking up"..visible, active growth will begin when its ready to begin..meanwhile its still important that the plants be allowed to be outside as temperature and photo period *very gradually* increases throughout the spring..
We, as humans, "wake up" in the span of about a minute or less..
plants "wake up" from dormancy over the span of 2 or 3 months..its those 30, 40 and 50 degree days in the early spring that wake them up, (and gradually increasing photo period) that's why they need to be outside in those temps..
I have a maple tree in the front yard that fully leafed out over the past 4 days..which seems "fast"..but! it was, in reality, working on the "leafing out process" for the past 2 months..there was a lot going on that simply isn't all that visible to us..
Same is true in the fall..people think plants "go dormant" in about the span of one month..October...in reality, plants *begin* the process of going dormant in June! when the photo period begins to decrease..
So..my point is..you are worrying too much!
if its above 32 degrees, leave the plants outside and don't worry about them..
my plants aren't doing much yet..flower stalks on the sarrs are poking up, but no real VFT growth has begun yet..but that's normal for this time of year..
May will be an active growth month! its the first "real" month of spring (weather-wise) for most of NY state..hang in there!
Scot