When things look bad with the weather try to learn from the experience

Our forecast for Monday night through Thursday will be below freezing and one will be 21 degrees. My early blooming pears are in full bloom and my Orient has petals that are falling off (Hood, Kieffer, Golden Boy, Orient, Tenn). My next group of pears have buds that range from tight to loose clusters (Harrow Sweet, Blakes Pride, Korean Giant, Moonglow, and Ayers). Rather than focussing on the possible damage (wishful thinking at best) I think I will try to learn a little about how much damage the buds get at different stages of flowering with freezing weather.

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Hope you still get fruit. Tuesday temps going down to 9 degrees here. Good thing is everything is still dormant. This is way below normal for March. Hopefully spring will be here soon.

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Thanks. There is still hope for my apples. They are still dormant.

Bill,
Do you have an outdoor thermometer to measure actual low temp in your orchard? I am thinking about getting one. It will help us really know how cold our yard/orchard will be.

So far, I rely on a weather station a mile from home. A mile can make a different re. Microclmate.

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I don’t have a gauge that records the temp but I do have one of those outdoor ones on my deck. The one your considering would give much better data.

I wish you the best. Last year, seeing pics of @clarkinks’ pear blossoms covered in snow but continuing to produce abundant pears makes me feel hopeful for your trees.

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Pears seem to take a lot of freezing and still produce something. Actually in my experience that’s true of most things. Just one freeze seldom takes 100% of the crop. It’s usually takes two or more for total devastation. Unfortunately the freeze damage has started early this yr. There’s probably going to be lots of losses.

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@Auburn
Did you spray with copper recently? I ask because copper among other things kills bacteria. Ice forms at higher temps when bacteria are present. "The bacteria, Pseudomonas syringae, use special proteins to alternatingly repel and attract water molecules, squishing the H20 molecules into high- and low-density patches. This patchy organization sort of “confuses” the water molecules so that they form ice at much higher temperatures and under other conditions not normally amenable to freezing, the researchers found.

The new study is the first to provide experimental data to explain these bizarre bacteria’s unique abilities, said study co-author Tobias Weidner, a physicist at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany. "“We clearly show these proteins can interact with water to promote ice growth.”

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That’s a good way to think about it Bill. Such events help me identify and compare microclimate areas, just as recent flooding gave me feedback on soil drainage.

I didn’t use copper this year. Do you think I would do more harm than good if I sprayed copper today? First freeze late tonight.

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Bill are your trees within hose distance? If yes, you can mist/heavy mist all your trees at sundown or (whenever it’s cold enough to create ice on your trees.) When a blanket isn’t going to protect that’s the best route.

When I was in Oregon many years ago we used both a sprinkler system and hoses at the nursery I worked at to put a layer of ice on all our stock. Try to get as much ice on your trees as possible and 1/4" is super insulating thickness.

You could also get a cheap hand held pump sprayer and do the same thing.

Dax

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I would not worry about the copper if the blooms are open.

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Okay. I’ve got an Oscar mulb that has greening buds. So…I’m thinking should I go out and spray it with water until it ices over…and as I’m thinking I am also considering how cold I will get doing that…and I ask my husband what he thinks and he says…how you gonna do that with a frozen hose… and I’m thinking…Oh Well…
:joy::joy::joy:
Katy

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It is cold outside. I just sprayed my blooming trees using a 1 gal sprayer.

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I covered it with a tarp… :woman_shrugging:

And…found the pineapples—I mean popsicles—that we forgot to bring in last night!!!

:cold_face: :cold_face: :cold_face:

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If water is moving through the hose,it may not freeze.bb

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We went from 26f to 24f last night and they are predicting 26f agian tonight. I walked through today trying to determine the fruit/bloom damage. Pretty sure I don’t have a clue at this stage whether they will survive.

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Forecasting 41 here tonight. My Keiffer looks pretty bad. Ozark Premier plum is not as pretty as it once was but may not be completely toast. Bruce plum may be unhurt along with very little damage on Santa Rosa. Moonglow pear looks like it might not glow very much but then nothing pollinates her anyway…:flushed::flushed::flushed:

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IF water had been moving through the hose…OR IF the hose had been drained prior to 24 F then it might not HAVE frozen. Oops!

:joy::joy::joy:

According to the chart you should get at least some pears.

The damage is often spotty due to frost pockets and slight differences in the trees.

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