Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Warm Winter

A lot of people have been asking how this unbelievably warm winter is affecting us as growers.  The short answer is there's an upside and a very big downside to the warmth.

The good news is that right now there have been no temperatures that would kill any of the over-winter plants or trees.  There have been no ice storms to break any limbs.  The lack of snow has made getting into the orchards to prune the trees incredibly easy.  Working outside is easy and pleasant.

On the bad side, any stretch of spring-like temperatures (50s and above) can trigger the trees' response that winter is over and growing season has begun.  In the fall, when temperatures are falling, trees begin pulling all of their fluids out of their extremities (limbs) and into their trunk and roots.  Doing this puts them in a dormant state that prevents the more sensitive parts of the tree from freezing and dying during the cold winter.  In the spring when it warms up, the trees begin pumping those fluids back out to their limbs and buds, assuming it's time to begin growing for the summer.  The danger with this, especially during this time of year, is that there is still a threat of an extreme cold snap which will easily kill any buds that have water in them.  This would cause wide-spread death and a massive loss for us.   

The short version: trees should be asleep but the warmth is waking them up too early which could be bad if it gets really cold suddenly.

Ideally, we like lows overnight in the teens and twenties and highs during the day somewhere around 32.  We even like cold temperatures throughout March to lessen the span of time we have to worry about frost.  The earlier the spring, the more danger we face, unfortunately.

So while it's great to be outside on a sunny February day in just a sweater, a lot is riding on us keeping our trees asleep and, in turn, alive all winter.  Enjoy the weather, but please don't wish for it to get any warmer.  At least not until April!