These don’t mix well

By then, the peaches are likely to be in full bloom…

I feel for you BG… Good Luck !

Last year my peaches were already 3/4 inch long, I thinned both of my older trees on 4/10… and we got a frost on 4/15 that wiped out all my peaches, apples, even my seedless concord grapes.

That stinks for sure. Hope you have better luck !

TNHunter

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25 is iffy. 28 would probably be OK. Those couple degrees can make a big difference.

Although, I’ve had 30° kill blossoms and 25° not do much damage. So there are a lot of other factors.

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Mine says 24 in Virginia 6b. I’m praying for that to change.

Ouch. Hope the forecast shifts up, usually they are being conservative and you will be OK but sometimes … not! I am forecast for 30F then and my peaches are similar.

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Weather Underground is showing 28 for me Thursday night. I’m guessing these are toast, but I’ll try to stay hopeful the forecasts changes between now and then.

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What about new grafts just opening buds. Are they tender?

New leaf buds of most fruit trees are very durable, I would say down to 22F or lower. Pomegranates, grapes and kiwis are an exception.

@zendog 28F is fine, look at the MSU bud hardiness page.

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Thanks for the info and the good news on the grafting front!

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28 is marginal. Depending on the duration of temperatures below freezing, they might actually make it through that.

I start to worry at 27.

That is about what I was thinking last year… but just before sun up 33 deg… just after sun up…32… per my back porch digital thermometer… my peach and apple trees are about 60-70 yards from my back porch.

It was very moist… foggy… and the wind blew in from the east… and blew air out of a deep hollow just east of my house across the ridge my home and orchard is on…

Lost all peaches apples. My back porch thermometer never showed below 32.

TNHunter

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Thanks for the link Scott! The forecast just dropped another degree but it also looks like there will be at least a little wind which I think will help. And with peaches of course loosing some is just easier thinning.

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Does spraying them with water help to keep them from freezing? I heard that a long time ago and my mom used to do it with vegetables in her garden.

I guess my seedlings come inside.

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We used to spray down our trees before freezes when I worked at a nursery in norhern Virginia.

The problem with windis that it makes other mitigation efforts actually more difficult.

They can help if you get the timing right. Ideally you let it run all night once temps get below freezing, but that would dry out my well.

That chart shows peaches post bloom 90% loss at 25 degrees…

I had 100 % loss. Peaches apples grapes… a Girardi mulberry new start that had leaves and fruit showing already… all above the graft died… a new che… 2 buds above the graft sprouted again about a month later.

Our hickory and poplar trees and some others lost leaves for a month…

Perhaps I need a new thermometer.

TNHunter

It HAD to have been colder than 32. That makes no sense. Sounds more like low to mid 20s.