This has been a crazy winter, weatherwise. With bulbs peaking out of the ground and shrubs budding out in December and temperatures tanking in mid-February, I was curious about the effect of the weather on the coming season’s fruit trees.
I asked Wesley Autio, professor of pomology and director of the new Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts, what we might expect. According to him, we won’t know for certain how much damage fruit crops suffered until the spring blooming period begins. Even then, said Autio, “we won’t be able to tell when the damage occurred because so many odd things have happened this past year.”
Autio referred to the unusual weather patterns in recent years as “climate instability,” an increasingly frequent phenomenon that interferes with trees’ regular cycles. Under normal conditions, he explained, fruit trees set flowers in early summer, after blooming. In the fall, when temperatures drop, they harden off, going into a period of dormancy in which they can withstand freezing temperatures. Trees require a certain number of hours of dormancy before they are able to grow and bloom again. The length of dormancy varies with the type of tree.
Because of the unusually warm fall, said Autio, the fruit trees did not harden off as early as usual. Fortunately though, we did get sufficient cold weather in January to induce dormancy.
According to Autio, the warm fall weather did affect some flowering trees and shrubs that have a relatively short dormancy period.
A brief spell of freezing weather in late November was sufficient to trigger dormancy, and unusually warm temperatures in December induced growth and bloom.
Autio said that azaleas and ornamental plum trees on the UMass campus bloomed in December. The concern with unusually early blooming, he said, is that winter damage can result if severely cold weather comes soon after the blooming period. Time will tell if this year’s early bloomers suffered damage.
If you had any shrubs or trees that were tricked into blooming in December, let’s hope you enjoyed your early blossoms, because once flowers bloom, they are finished for the season. The trees won’t set new flowers until early summer, and then the cycle will begin again.
The intense cold snap in mid-February, when temperatures sank to minus 10 and below for several nights, was another stresser for fruit trees. Autio predicted that apple and pear trees are likely to survive the intensely cold period in February. But, he said, peaches, which are less hardy, were probably damaged by the unusually cold conditions.
Autio pointed out that climate instability can harm fruit trees in many ways. The October snowstorm in 2011, for example, brought down many limbs that had not yet shed their leaves. And severe tropical storms and tornados can also wreak havoc in the orchard.
Climate instability is also a concern, said Autio, because the increasingly warm temperatures will bring a “different pest complex” to the Northeast. “We’ll begin to have the exotic pests that have invaded the Mid-Atlantic states, such as the Asian longhorn beetle and brown marmolated stinkbug,” he said. “There have been sightings of these insects, and there will likely be more of them as the climate changes.” Autio noted that the pest problem in New Jersey has been so severe that 90 percent of its fruit was damaged and unsellable last year.
The Northeast will also begin to experience new disease organisms and rots that now occur in the mid-Atlantic, said Autio. “It’s a matter of educating people about the new pests and problems so they can deal with them effectively.”
Local climate change deniers might think again if there are no peaches in New England orchards this year. They might even change their minds when stinkbugs start infesting their homes.
There’s a lot to learn about climate change beyond its implications for fruit trees. On March 13 from 2 to 4 p.m. the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association is sponsoring a lecture titled “Climate Change, the Future of Plant Life in New England, and What You Can Do.” Elizabeth Farnsworth, senior research ecologist with the New England Wild Flower Society, will deliver the talk at Stirn Auditorium at Amherst College.
Admission is free. For additional information, contact Anne Williamson at annekwilliamson@gmail.com.
It’s not too early to launch this year’s vegetable garden. There will be a discussion of seed starting by Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Margaret Larson Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the South Hadley Police Station at 41 Bridge St. All are welcome and invited to stay for the South Hadley Community Garden meeting that follows.
The Amherst Woman’s Club at 35 Triangle St., built in 1864, is one of Amherst’s finest Victorian houses.
You can see the lovely house while you enjoy the AWC’s benefit flower show March 19 from noon to 4 p.m. Spend an afternoon among its fresh flower arrangements, potted plants, herbs, original flower paintings by local artists Artemis Romell and Jo Swift, Jackie Tuthill’s flower-themed notecards, and original pottery by Mary Knightly. There will be a flower arranging demonstration by Sally Serio at 2 p.m. sponsored by Big Y. Tickets will be available at the door for $5, and every visitor is eligible for the door prize, a floral arrangement. Refreshments will be served. Proceeds will benefit AWC’s scholarship program and community service projects. For details call Libby Klekowski, at 548-9134.
This year’s spring symposium of the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association will be held at Frontier Regional High School in South Deerfield, March 19 from 8:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. The keynote speaker is Karen Bussolini. Register in advance and sign up for morning and afternoon programs. Pre-registration is required as seating and spaces are limited. For more information, go to wmmga.org, or contact Lucy Alman at gardensymposium123@gmail.com, or at 665-7174.