Q&A - Did the frost kill my peach tree and blooms?
Question:
Do you think this last frost killed my peach tree? It already had blooms on it.
Answer:
The frost did not kill the tree but it very well might have killed the blossoms and fruit. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison explains that if the air temperature drops below 28 degrees the young fruit would have frozen. Cutting one in half with a knife is how you tell. If it is brown it is dead; If it is translucent the fruit survived. The blossoms, if they were out, could have been killed too. If there were blossoms that had not opened yet those may have survived. Mike explains how you may have anywhere from no effect on harvest to a loss of the crop based on the kind of tree you have.
Related Resources:
Critical Temperatures for Frost Damage on Fruit Trees
Critical Temperatures for Various Fruits
Peaches and Nectarines
Do you think this last frost killed my peach tree? It already had blooms on it.
Answer:
The frost did not kill the tree but it very well might have killed the blossoms and fruit. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison explains that if the air temperature drops below 28 degrees the young fruit would have frozen. Cutting one in half with a knife is how you tell. If it is brown it is dead; If it is translucent the fruit survived. The blossoms, if they were out, could have been killed too. If there were blossoms that had not opened yet those may have survived. Mike explains how you may have anywhere from no effect on harvest to a loss of the crop based on the kind of tree you have.
Related Resources:
Critical Temperatures for Frost Damage on Fruit Trees
Critical Temperatures for Various Fruits
Peaches and Nectarines