Where are you located/general area?
Next week still looks cold and then its all done.
I am in the Iowa City, IA area.
850s of -12Cā¦ GFS wants to take you almost calmā¦clear skiesā¦
Does your yard/where your trees are run colder then surrounding areas?
At least for what i can seeā¦i would say the upper 20Fs are more realistic, but i guess if everything is perfect, they could drop lower. I know my 850s up here are colder but the GFS is showing more wind/maybe some clouds (who knows if that is true) and the NWS here is showing 24Fā¦but we generally run a little warmer then surrounding areas.
NWS Quad Cities
[quote]LATE FRIDAY NIGHT DRY CONDITIONS WILL BE SEEN AS SKIES SLOWLY CLEAR
BUT WINDS REMAIN UP. TEMPERATURES SHOULD DROP INTO THE LOW TO MID
20S PRIOR TO SUNRISE SATURDAY.[/quote]
A lot depends on when you see clearing/snow endsā¦wind could help from plummeting off a cliff.
Rob,
I got one more low of 27F to deal with on Saturday night and then I am in the clear for now. Most of my stone fruits bloomed and will have to ride it out.
Tony
Omaha should stay even warmer then thatā¦ air is a lot warmer as you get westā¦80F by Sunday out there.
NWS Omaha says this:
[quote]OTHERWISE IT LOOKS LIKE A RELATIVELY COOL PERIOD THE NEXT FEW DAYS
AS CONTINUED NEUTRAL OR COLD ADVECTION KEEPS TEMPERATURES NEAR OR
BELOW NORMAL. HIGHS SHOULD AVERAGE THE LOW TO MID 50S ACROSS MOST OF
EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA. LOW TEMPERATURES ARE A CONCERN
FRIDAY NIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES INTO THE REGIONā¦SUGGESTING
GOOD RADIATIONAL COOLING COULD OCCUR. ONE CAVEAT WILL BE THE
POTENTIAL FOR MID/HIGH CLOUDS SPREADING THROUGH THE
REGIONā¦HALTING LOWS TO THE LOWER 30S. BUT MODEL GUIDANCE LOOKS
TO BE ONTO SOMETHING SHOWING LOWS IN THE MID AND UPPER 20S FOR
MUCH OF OUR AREA. WILL WATCH THIS TREND FOR POTENTIAL FREEZE
CONDITIONS THEN.[/quote]
Same here, 27F Sat and then I should be in the clear.
One thing I have been doing in this dicey weather is getting the forecast from multiple sources and taking the median. If you have an Android (or iPhone) I am using Weather Underground, WeatherBug, 1Weather, NOAA Weather, and WeatherPro apps. None of them use the exact same forecast model and it gives a better idea of the range of possibilities by comparing.
Trying to predict an exact temp is pretty tough in a radiational type (calm/clear) of setup (winds decouple and its game over) is tough stuff. I think your on to something with just averaging them outā¦or just putting a range outā¦20F-25F etc etcā¦
The reason why the Euro has been beating on the GFS weather model for years is because it had a lot more more computer behind it. Soon though, the GFS should be cranking out some much more accurate model predictions.
There is also a new GOES-R weather satellite that is suppose to go up next Octā¦
http://www.goes-r.gov/mission/news_GOES-R_Launch_Oct2016.html
1 Like
Iām back in a bad mood.
Looked at every tree on the farm today for an evaluation. A few days after our freeze, it was looking like lots of blooms survived. I think they did, but I think the cold affected the ability of the blooms to be pollinated (even by wind).
After the low of 24F in full bloom on 3-25, some trees still look to have full crops. Others almost have nothing. Extremely variety specific. In this area, we are down for another freeze event on Sat. morning. The NWS is issuing 32F for the low, but my place has been running 5 to 8 degrees cooler. If the weather takes more of the crop, it may not be worth spraying. This has been the crappiest year in a while, for just about everyone east of the Rockies.
While itās fresh on my mind, I have a few generalizations to offer.
As of this date, older peach varieties have set a lot more fruit, even though they may get frosted in a few days.
I have about a hundred varieties at the farm. Some that have been total losers in terms of production the last couple years (either to bac. spot, or because of cold). Total losers, PF24-007, Klondike White, Sweet Scarlet (terrible- this is the fifth season and nothing. Has one of the strongest love affairs w/ bac. spot Iāve ever seen) Salem, Coralstar, Messina. These are very sorry production peaches, and are pretty much slated for immediate removal in my orchard.
I used to be impressed w/ the Coralstar size and flavor, but I really think it was probably due to the always thin crop contributing to size and sugar.
In terms of old peaches, the Haven varieties seem to do very well (Glohaven, Redhaven, Cresthaven).
Again, the older peach varieties have survived the previous frosts, generally a lot better than the newer varieties.
Some exceptions would be Gloria, Sweet Breeze, Flavorburst, Silver Gem nect, Avalon nect, Nectafest nect, PF24c, & PF35-007.
3 Likes
Olpea,
My mood is not very good, either. 
I just came back from checking my trees. I donāt see signs of surviving flower buds on peaches, not even PF 24 C!!
Anyway, what you do think about Madison and Glenglo. From what I read, their buds seem to have more tolerance to cold.
I am thinking that if I ever plant another peach tree, bud hardiness may be what I need to consider, not just taste or disease resistance.
1 Like
I think the newer varieties were hybridized with emphasis on size
and color at the expense of cold tolerance.
1 Like
This I think happened to me last year. My pluots all bloomed, but only Flavor King set fruit. FK seems to be the hardiest I have. Worth trying for sure.
Good info thanks! Iām going to keep that info for my records.
Is it winter, or spring that is causing the problems? If itās winter try Wilt Stop. Try to apply twice.
I have not confirmed this product works but so far it really does seem to work. Itās worth trying.
I got down to -16 two winters ago, and I had peaches. Not all the buds survived, although I did get about 25 peaches on a 3rd leaf tree. Well on 2 trees, Another tree only had 7 peaches. All my western blackberries survived. These are like zone 7 plants in zone 5b, and they made it. And again this year. I lost about 3 canes out of 30. Bosenberry, and Marionberry made it.
One person at least tried it last year.
1 Like
Mamuang,
Itās interesting you mention those. I wrote down all the non-patented varieties which had a good fruit set the last 3 years at the farm, counting this year, and/or had good production in my backyard before that. I tried to make a list for all the harvest windows I need.
Glenglo and Madison are on that list. Glenglo isnāt off patent till Feb. of next year, but itās close enough I put it on the list.
From my notes today, Glenglo (about 10 trees) has so far set a 90% crop (that doesnāt mean 90% of the blooms survived, rather if everything remains alive on the tree currently, it will produce 90% of its potential). I have Madison at 100% of itās potential, which means if we were not to get another freeze event (like the one planned for Sat. morning) it would need heavy thinning. Note that Glenglo is a very pretty red peach, but Madison is not. Madison is an old peach which has very poor color when ripe, but is fine tasting.
Compare that to some other varieties, like PF23 which looks like it could fruit 5% of its potential (translates to lots and lots of shoots w/ no fruit). Some trees like PF24-007 have probably 10 viable blooms on them. PF24-007 is one of those trees slated for removal very soon because it has hardly set anything the last three years. Plus I have a friend who removed it from his orchard. Completely non-productive. Fortunately I only have one of these trees.
Other PF varieties which hardly have any viable blooms are PF25, PF27a, and PF28-007.
These are all big trees.
I used C9ās with a āplanketā over them. The planket is a heavy duty frost cloth. Mine didnāt reach the ground so just the canopy was covered. I managed about 8-10 above outside temps.
I seem to have escaped last nightās record lows in my area with relatively little damageā¦ My Nadia has only been in the ground a couple weeks but has little leaves, no sign of damage. Even my blooming Carmine Jewel seems unaffected. (both sit high on my lot, well away from where frost collects)
On the other hand my Jostaberries were heavily leafed out and are now looking unhappy. Also, one of two hardy kiwis turned almost completely black overnight. (Meader male) The Anna female only 10ā away shows no damage at all.
@warmwxrules My yard is in an engineered bowl. While I am not the lowest spot on the landscape, I am in a local minimum with a road that acts like a dam for cold air to pool in my back yard.
It is less than ideal and puts me 3-5 Ā°F colder than the closest weather station of record.
I am definitely glad I have some late blooming apples.
1 Like
Levers-
Yeah. That stinks. Nothing you can do about it though. Best bet is to invest in tarps/blankets/lights and fight. Maybe try to keep your trees that might have spring issues small so that they are easier to cover? My Moniqui has about 20 flower buds swelling and some of them are 14 feet in the airā¦no way are they getting covered. That whole branch needs to be removed anyways.
Olpea-
Do you grow Contender? In my readings that seems to be the king daddy when it comes to surviving winter/spring frosts/freezesā¦ Not sure what the fruit is like because iāve never grown it, but i might pick one up and plant it in the ground and see if it can handle a few Wisconsin winters.
Iāve got these European type Elderberries and they have leaves that keep getting zapped. Very early to wake. Have no idea what is going to happen with them. I may just rip them out if they survive the summer.
I have one of those in my backyard. It does bloom later, and the fruit is good. Iāve sold fruit off the tree for several years. Itās been reliable so far. The one tree does have a very upright growth pattern, which can make it a little harder to keep both low and productive. Itās not that big a deal. I have lots of other trees the same way. Itās currently on my ālikeā list
Yeah, you are right. I think Iām gonna buy two big tarps Friday afternoon on the way home from work for my plums. Now I just wish we had bought incandescent Xmas lights rather than LEDsā¦
I fight against the deer, so it is hard to go too small, but I am going to attempt to keep the plums ssmaller. I think the biggest bummer is that one of my favorite apples (Zestar) is the earliest blooming. It may not the the best apple in existence but it is something to get excited about because it is early and good tasting.
I was using a lava lamp under my apricot. My wild rabbits will probably be in a trance. Neighbors know iām nuts so they wonāt think anything of it.
Deer are tough. Maybe caging/fencing around the entire tree all winter? I have to do that here now with my rabbits destroying anything that isnāt protected.
My xmas lights i think are all ledā¦
2 Likes
Just play some appropriate mood music to go with the lava light. Maybe put an incense burner out there with it. Tell them youāre trying to keep your apricot happy.
4 Likes