Anyone else have frost?

14 years ago

I had the first frost some weeks ago, but the big freeze came this past weekend. My apples are mush, flowers are all gone and the leaves didn't turn color, just dried up and died on the branches of the trees.

This is the second year I've lost my apples, which normally have very good production. Last year we had a really late spring and this year we broke records for cold weather last weekend. The sad part I was about a week away from apple harvest :(

Has anyone else noticed the weather has been a lot colder lately? We had the most snow in recorded history last year and the year before was the third snowiest on record. Previous records were set back in the 1950's!

Oh well, time to start getting the house ready for the holidays. At least I don't need to water anymore :)

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Comments (7)

midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
14 years ago
LL - what kind of apples did you lose? I went by an apple orchard yesterday, and their apples were bright red on the trees, waiting to be picked. I bet I couldn't get Courtlands yet...maybe you grow different varieties than we do here.

Nancy.
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lavender_lass
Original Author
14 years ago
Nancy- I'm not sure of the name of the apple, because we inherited the tree with the farm. It's got beautiful, small apples that are mostly red, with a little green. They make the best pies and crisps! They're a little tart, but wonderful for baking. I'd say they're kind of like little gala apples, although I'm sure they're not really related.

This is an old apple tree, probably at least 40 to 50 years old. Almost everything out here was planted by my husband's grandmother back in the 1950's and 1960's.

What's really disappointing, is that after losing them last year, it was so exciting to see the tree covered with bumblebees this spring, resulting in literally hundreds of little apples. It's so sad, that with a few exceptions, most of them are frozen on the tree.
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I am a recent transplant here myself (from SE PA). I walked around my yard and could not believe everything that was affected by this morning's freeze! New growth on azaleas, hydrangea, crape myrtle, astilbe, spirea and salvia were all damaged to a greater or lesser degree. My Golden Tiaras were the worst hit, but I'm sure it's just setback, I'm sure they will bounce back. I need to make some notes of this stuff for future years.... I sure don't remember this ever happening in 19 years of gardening in PA!!! Yes, we had April snow some years, but I don't remember much frost damage... Then again, maybe this year I'm just paying more attention (new house, new gardens)... I guess there's more to learn in moving to a different climate than just plants and soil! (I am NOT complaining about SC weather... the weather here has one of the best parts of living in the South!!!)
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Just got the following from emai list of Tony Avent at Plant Delights Nursery in NC - should be helpful: Dear PDN'ers: Greetings from Plant Delights, where after two weeks of late spring weather, we have once again plunged back into the grip of winter. For nurserymen, it is the month of April that results in the most premature grey hair accompanied by high blood pressure due to the worry about late spring frosts. After two weeks of temperatures in the 80's, a cold front has once again gripped our area, with predictions of five consecutive nights of freezing temperatures and lows of 24-26 degrees F, which will shatter our old low temperature records for most of those dates. Wheres global warming when you really need it? Since we havent uncovered the overwintering greenhouses yet, the containerized nursery plants are fine, other than causing some heating bills that we could have done without. Our primary concerns are for plants in the display garden, where some arisaemas are in full flower and early hostas are in full leaf. Our crew has spent over 24 man hours covering tender vegetation with spun-bound polyester frost fabric (Im glad nursery folks never got the memo that polyester went out of fashion). Frost cloth is made for this purpose and can offer several degrees of protection for tender plants in just such a situation. The key to how much damage we will see is a combination of how cold the temperatures drop and how long they stay there. Typically, frost clothes can offer protection down to about 27 degrees F, but below that, cold injury could still occur. There is also the issue of trees and shrubs that have already developed spring growth. While these are virtually impossible to protect with frost cloth, they can be very sensitive to frost damage. Japanese maples are one of many trees that are particularly sensitive and can be killed outright by late spring freezes when they are at a susceptible stage of growth. In such cases, there are really only two options for protection. One is the application of irrigation, which, while the water is freezing actually releases heat that protects the plants. This technique is most commonly used on field grown crops such as strawberries. The downside is that water must be applied at the proper rate and the application must continue continuously until the temperatures rise above freezing. The other option is to rent kerosene space heaters and simply heat up the night air around the plant. This is similar to the smudge pots that are used in Florida orange orchards when frosts are imminent. These heaters can usually be rented from stores who specialize in the rental of construction equipment. If you would like to know more of the technical details about water application to protect plants, the following NCSU website is quite useful: http://www.smallfruits.org/Weather/frost_freeze.htm .
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PM2, I have 2 Kwanzan cherries that were here when I moved in, 20 years ago or so, and I don't recommend them! They're a lovely cotton-candy shade of pink for a couple of weeks; their bark is "sort of" interesting; and other than that they're just messy, boring trees, without an especially interesting or graceful form. Winter moths love them, which makes growing things under them all but impossible - anything like hosta, hellebores, or fine-leaved perennials get clobbered by falling petals and caterpillar offal raining down. Maybe there are better varieties - these would certainly make a statement for drive-by viewing but come up short on closer inspection. There are so many bright colors at the same time as the cherries bloom. So, I've headed away from spring-flowering trees for this reason, and would choose something like witch hazel for winter color, Heptacodium and/or Franklinia for fall, or Stewartia for summer. Those seasons need that infusion of color more than early spring, IMHO!
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Here's a google search that shows the fruit and leaves Sudachi
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libbyshome
14 years ago
We've had frost in Victoria BC. And record breaking cold a few night ago. brrrr
I guess we've come to the end of the beautiful weather.
Boy oh boy the soil's dry.

Libby
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silvergirl426_gw
14 years ago
well, I'm on the opposite coast -- northwest CT. And we had a frost on Sunday night. The tender annuals all got zapped. This is quite early for such cold, and this after a horrible summer of cold and rain. No tomatoes, no cucumbers (too much rain early): the flowers liked it, tho. They were lush -- and I still have some tuf roses pumping out blooms. Our fall colors are spectacular now. The only consolation for the end of the gardening season. I planed bulbs last weekend -- I was not wearing my winter jacket (not yet -- in November, when I usually finish putting in bulbs, I need it), and I'll do the last mowing of the lawn this weekend. Oh, how I hae to see winter come!
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gldno1
14 years ago
We had a heavy frost October 10 and they are predicting a killing freeze of 28Â° in a couple of days.

The rains are still coming almost daily, not heavy but with no sunshine everything is staying wet all the time.

I wonder if our local orchard has all his trees harvested? I never thought about the apples.

You apple sounds like my favorite apple, Jonathon. It is redder than a gala and also smaller.

Glenda
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memo3
14 years ago
We've had multiple killing frosts and snow three times now. Not much for accumulation but still, it isn't even Halloween yet. I'm not really complaining though. Spring came in April vs. June this year and I had the best gardening season I've ever had. If it takes an early fall and winter to get an early spring and mild summer, well, bring it on baby!!

MeMo
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thinman
14 years ago
Yep, we had our first real freeze Tuesday night - down in the 20s. I think our apples are OK though, as it usually takes more cold than that to do them in. I guess I'll find out tomorrow, as I just finished up the last of last Thursday's applesauce and we need more. Stat!

ThinMan
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Anyone else have frost?

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midnightsmum (Z4, ON)

lavender_lass
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Anyone else have frost?

Comments (7)

midnightsmum (Z4, ON)

lavender_lassOriginal Author

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silvergirl426_gw

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lavender_lass
Original Author