This winter has been dreary and super cold. Teens and even single digits have been the norm, something most of us don't care for but it may be good news for the gardener. Trees, particularly fruiting trees have chilling requirements and need a suitable period of dormancy to produce fruit the next year. Chill hours are determined by the amount of time that temperatures are below 45 and above 32 degrees. The longer the chill, the more a plant sleeps, which equates to more flowers when spring arrives. The chilling requirements for various plants are something that breeders have taken into account for hybridizing. Typically with trees, the initial stages of dormancy are reversible, a warm day, arriving after a period of cold, can stop the process, the tree ignores it. After a certain amount of cold days the plant will go into full-fledged dormancy, not waking up till its chilling requirements have been met. The hybrid or selection process in trees is mainly focused on fruit trees for southern climates, and because of these efforts we have apple trees for California and better peaches and apricots for Alabama and Texas. The right fruiting tree, in the right climate will respond to warmer temperatures once its chilling requirements are met, but not flower with the first warm spell and risk losing that year’s harvest to frost. Testing for various climates is something that takes many years so it’s best to research fruiting trees for your climate or follow the practice of a local orchard, using the same hybrids or cultivars. Bottom line with fruiting trees; apples, pears and cherries are for northern climates and barring a late frost, this will be a good year. You are challenging yourself to grow peaches, nectarines and figs here in Virginia and Maryland, pick the right microclimate, possibly one where the flowering period may be later (the early flowers tend to freeze), a lower cold spot or an east exposure.
For those of you that love figs, their only requirement for chilling hours is 100, we live in a 1,400 hour range. The buds, which are the part of the fruit we eat, are produced on old wood. Last year, (and I suspect this year), the stems froze; this is an entirely different kind of challenge for the gardener. As is their desire, long hot summers suit them, but we run short on long enough for late summer fruit to ripen. In a good year, the previous year’s stems don’t freeze, abundant fruit is set, and we have more figs than we can eat. Choices are limited for a northern gardener growing figs. At the very least plant the right variety of fig with an unobstructed south exposure. After that, or with that, build supports and cover them with plastic, maybe add a heater set to low on really cold nights. We all know that store bought figs are no match to handpicked, and pricey, but cheaper than moving south.
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