Well it doesn’t look to good as far as fruit production goes this year. We had very very little chill again this year which is becoming an alarming trend here in Dallas. The lack of chill is going to greatly impact fruit production. Only two of my pears have set much of anything Dabney and Hosui. Hosui id under attack from fb right now so we will see if anything survives. My container stone fruit which set so well a year ago didn’t do so well this year and I’m not really sure why. My stone fruit are grown outdoors in winter and later moved to my gh. I don’t have the space available or the ability to create an artificial winter like fruitnut does. Some of my low chill nectarines actually bloomed well enough but aborted lots of flowers this year were as last year almost every bloom set a fruit. Also some of the nectarines set some fruit that for some reason started to shrivel up and abort. I am very familiar with OFM and curculio and that wasn’t it. The damn things just died up and fell. Dunno why. I am really perplexed about the nectarines as most of them are low chill and bloomed well enough. There was nothing even close to a late freeze to blame it on either. My SS plumcot barley bloomed and only set 2 fruit. Honey Royale has had a very lethargic and long drown out bloom and won’t set much I don’t think. To top it all off 2 of my Satsuma citrus have decided to go biennial on me (I guess) and are not going to bloom at all. Santa Rosa plum has nice fruit set this year and my Smooth Texan Three looks like it will have a decent set for a young tree. I will get some fruit from some of my other trees but not at all what I should have. Bummer year for sure! I know I should’t be complaining as I know many people have been frozen out and I feel your pain.
Wow, sorry to hear this. Maybe next year, I know I was zone pushing, and it was a lot of work for little reward. Now I think I will only zone push if it’s a zone 7 plant. I can get them through the winter. If 8 or 9, it just isn’t worth it. And low chill, most don’t work, some exceptions though. Maybe next year will be better for you.
Try to add some edibles known to work in your area, so you always have something, if they exist?? Hang in there!
You know it’s funny because I have lots of stuff that is proven to perform here and just hasn’t this year. Honey Royale did great for me a few years in a row a few years back and this year it just doesn’t look like is setting well. The nectarines that bloomed great and then didn’t set well are the most concerning. I don’t know what the he’ll happened. Oh well I’m going to get some fruit and in another year I should be set as I have a lot of young trees to balance out the season. I have a major veggie project that is going to keep me swamped his year anyway. I’ll post more on that later in the season. Thank you Drew! Best of luck to you this year.
Drew
Drew like you I’ve got a lot of nectarines that didn’t set very well this yr. Most have a crop and I don’t have to thin much if any. But some bloomed good and just didn’t set. Not sure why.
On the bright side, ND which used to be zone 3 is well on its way to becoming zone 5! Gonna have to start planting more peaches maybe…
I saw a report that said Michigan has the most to gain from rising temps. In USA. Works for me.
As far as blooms Alan mentioned his trees are blooming later, so are mine. Here not that much of a difference from last season, have no idea as to why? It was warmer this season by a touch, yet they are opening later. I’m not even showing any flower color yet.Any second now I should see first pink.
The weather is very strange in Kansas and I’m waiting for it to get stranger. Time will tell. Sorry for your fruit loss @wildscaper
All of my cultivated stone fruit that bloomed was wiped out because of the very warm spells followed by a couple of hard freezes in a row We were about 3 weeks ahead of normal!
Oddly (to me, anyway) my Americana plum thicket on my wild land across the street is later than normal. The first bloom just opened today. Maybe the native plum here knows the warm spell was not a real spring? I like those plums, so I’m pleased however that came to be.
My wild plum thicket is later this year than my J plums . I think the J plums had met their chill requirement and started to wake up in our warm February . The J plums are blooming now . The wild ones no . Just opposite of normal .
I’m impressed by the natives, and here in the north the Japanese plums do best when crossed with natives, like Superior, Toka, etc. and many others. Wish I had more room!
Yeah the south got hit this year the worst! The north the least, if at all.