Growing zones confusion

The biggest issue is that the peaches turn mealy on the tree. Just about all our late varieties will suffer heat stress like this if it’s really hot during ripening. This would be for anything past about +25 (Redhaven) The problem can be eliminated if the peaches are picked earlier and allowed to counter-ripen. Mid-season and early season peaches don’t get mealy, no matter the temps.

If it’s really hot, I’ve found some big varieties like White County, Laurol, and Autumnstar will start to rot on the inside near the pit. It seems like the really big peaches, the inside just seems to oxidize and the flesh dies, then starts rotting from the inside out, like a pear left on the tree.

Finally, some very dark red varieties (like PF 15a) get sunburned much easier if it’s really hot temps. The dark skin of the flesh absorbs more heat. If it’s really hot it will heat the skin up more and cook it.

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@Olpea
And what is the relative humidity when the heat affects ripening?

Some people when talking about how cold it is talk about a feels like temperature and others talk about the actual temperature. This year we had a -15 day but news said it felt like -50 something. At least I know my grandma gets those confused with gardening related issues so I think it may be more common than we think. I agree with you on how things can change widely with temperature in a few minutes drive at least. My house is 5k elevation but my work is in a city that is 8k-9k elevation. That is just 30 minutes away from my house. My dad has the same zip code as me and my mother but our house location is way warmer outside and has a longer season in general because of his elevation.