ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The unseasonably cold weather has put a damper on the start to spring, but will it affect springtime traditions like the lilacs blooming at Highland Park?

The Rochester Lilac Festival is about five weeks away.

With sub-freezing temperatures in the Rochester area, Monroe County's Superintendent of Horticulture Mark Quinn spoke about how the plants are faring.

Quinn says lilacs are extremely resilient. It's one of the reasons they thrive in the Rochester region.

"You can walk up in the park right now and you’ll find the witch-hazels actually in bloom,” Quinn said. “But you see people’s bulbs are coming up already, and you’ll see the plants will actually freeze. But for the most part, things that bloom this early can take that cold. Typically if you start getting things that bloom later like the end of May and June then you got some issues, but this time of year, not so much."

Quinn says there's no worry about lilacs being damaged, even with freezing temperatures forecasted into the first week of April.