Early Apple Blossom Triggers Fears of Killer Frost

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

Early apple blossom triggers fears of killer frost

BOB SALSBERG
From Associated Press
April 18, 2010 4:26 PM EDT
BOSTON (AP) — Frank Whittemore has been growing fruit for a lifetime and can't ever remember a year when the buds started peeking out on his 30,000 apples trees so early in the spring. And that's what has him worried.

- snip -

While most residents of the Northeast were enjoying the recent spate of warm weather, apple growers fretted about an unprecedented early bloom that could leave the nascent fruit vulnerable to a dangerous cold snap. And farmers around the country fear that other fruits, including cherries, blueberries and plums, could also fall victim to frost.

Orchard managers and fruit experts said a balmy early spring — the mercury climbed to a record-shattering 92 degrees in parts of New England on April 7 — combined with an early snow melt and heavy rains in March has trees blossoming two to three weeks ahead of schedule on average. That leaves plenty of time on the calendar for the region's notoriously unpredictable weather to strike back with a killer freeze.

"There will be a couple of weeks where the growers, I think, will be pretty nervous," said Russell Powell, executive director of the New England Apple Growers Association, which represents hundreds of commercial orchards in the region.

Read more: http://enews.earthlink.net/article/us?guid=20100418/93eca051-81d2-4f9e-93d0-419982b6ad4e

[Zoeisright]

1. Spring is so early here it's crazy. The leaves are almost out on the trees.

That is a full MONTH early for Minnesota. The forsythia has finished blooming, daffodils and tulips are up, and dandelions are already in full bloom.

[Denninmi]

2. Same here in SE Michigan

I can't ever remember a spring when fruit trees bloomed this early. Apricots are already done here, peaches, cherries, plums are in full bloom. Pears are opening, most apples are showing hints of color.

And, of course, it was 84 here on Thursday, 64 on Friday, 42 on Saturday with snow flurries all day, and going down to right around 32 tonight, give or take a few degrees.

[Berry Cool]

6. Much the same in NE Ohio, of course.

I was living in upstate NY the last time spring came this early--1998--I remember the trees were already in full leaf by mid-April that year. Otherwise, this just doesn't happen.

The blossoming trees are in full bloom and the tulips and lilacs are already out, and those flowers normally don't bloom until May. At this rate they'll be gone before then.

Oh, and we still have forsythia, but we also have dandelions.

[Kittycat]

5. You should see the Chicago burbs right now - it's crazy.

We're at least 2wks early across the board, but some things are more than that. Last week, in what seemed like an overnight, my Celebration Maple leafed out in full - and my crabapples are flowering. The redbuds and plum cherry are both finishing, lilacs are opening - and the irises are almost knee high. Most of the Tulips are open now as well. I'm wondering if we'll have another cool summer though. My vegetable garden really struggled last year, with many things not truly growing until the end of the season, almost before it was too late.

[kas125]

8. Here in the NW Indiana area, too. My spring bulbs

started coming up months ago and they're already dead. Morning glories are already a couple inches high and usually they don't show themselves for another month. And bugs!! I opened the back door to let the dog in and a fly came in the house. There are moths and flies all over the yard and it's way too early!

[Delphinus]

17. Ditto

for NE Indiana.

Cut my grass the last day of March. Too wet to till the soil in my garden, but my pear trees have flowered and we've had three cold nights (freeze warning & watch).

[Speck Tater]

3. Here in the Pacific Northwest my dozen apple trees are in full bloom already! nt

[Skink]

4. Texas is enjoying a prolonged spring.

but after last year of a hundred hundred degree days I can't remember.

[truthisfreedom]

7. Leaves are appearing on the trees here in Minneapolis. Absolutely unprecedented.

We're headed into a very weird summer, I think. I hope we don't have a hard freeze! I'm actually expecting a big snow here soon.

[vixengrl]

9. My husband was worrying yesterday about our figs.

We have little baby figs all over our trees, but it's not unheard of to have an evening close to freezing in April even in Philadelphia--although I think we're probably past the danger zone.

Also, our trees are tough babies--we wrapped them in contractor-size trash bags when they were young to get them through the winter, but they survived the snows with no wrappings at all this winter, and already look to be as prolific as they were last year. Ditto our grapes. We've got little pinhead-clusters of them all around. They might survive a frost, but our experience is that figs are a little more fragile. We did have a season where we lost more than a few fruits to a spring cold snap.

[KillCapitalism]

10. It's crazy b/c it can still get EXTREMELY cold.

Leaves are pretty well out on trees here, but according to our almanac the record low temp for tomorrow's date is -1*F.

[JVS]

11. Volcano ash cold spell is going to mess things up

[greenman3610]

12. this volcano is unlikely to influence weather very much

Not large enough, ash staying in lower atmosphere, not likely to persist,
most weather effects come from larger, tropical volcanoes.

[connecticut yankee]

13. Our dogwoods are blooming

They usually bloom around Mother's Day.

We're in Southwestern Connecticut.

[JCMach1]

14. Nature tend to balance things out- things bloomed in North Florida LATER than at any time

in most living memories... Azaleas did not kick-in until April.

[Ian David]

15. So much for apple pie on July 4th. n/t

[Robb]

16. Here in Colorado I broke out the lawnmower yesterday

...about half the fruit trees are blossoming -- peaches, plums, pears. The apple trees haven't gone off yet.