Return to the Citrus Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
Posted by greyghost61 8b SoWeGa (My Page) on Sat, Feb 4, 12 at 8:27
| As we all know here in the southeast we have had a very short and mild winter. It has been a couple of weeks since I have had nights that dipped to below freezing. I have two varieties of satsuma, an improved meyer, some sweet kumquats and a moro blood orange. All of my citrus have come out of dormancy to some degree or other but the one that concerns me is my moro blood orange, it is covered in new growth and starting to put on blooms. I am sure we are going to get at least one more arctic blast that will get down in the low 20s in the next four or five weeks (I would be totally shocked if we did not) so here is my question.
Should I give them fertilizer now when they are starting their growth spurt and protect them if we get another cold snap? I have no idea how to shock them back into sleep, and I would like to get some fruit off of them this year. All my citrus have survived winters without protection that were a heck of alot rougher than the one we are in now and I gotten fruit off of all of my trees except my moro blood orange in the past. This is the first time it has bloomed and it is so early that I am worried it will get killed back. If we get a snap down to the lower 20s or so, I just don't know if a frost cloth will protect all the new growth. Any imput would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
- Posted by pgde Tucson Zone 9 (My Page) on
Sat, Feb 4, 12 at 13:36
| I'm in the same dilemma as you. Am out here in Tucson, AZ. What I would do is to check the long range forecast at the National Weather Service site and see what is forecast. Obviously, the East Coast has different weather than out here. I have given my trees their micronutrient soil drench (trace minerals such as iron, zinc, etc) but not any fertilizer -- yet. Here is a good link for you to try: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/wxtables/index.php?lat=xx.xxxxx&lon=-yyy.yyyyy&table=custom&duration=7&interval=1. Replace the x and y with your lat/long coordinates (as specific as you can be). That will give you the next 10 days or so. Then check: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/90day/fxus05.html which will give you a several month forecast (albeit at a high level). Finally, check your last frost date at: http://zz.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/ (input your zip code at the site and zz = daves garden --all one word). These should give you some insight as to what to do. Out here, I am leaning towards fertilizing but please remember we are much different in weather, even though we are in the same zone. Any questions, just post a reply! Peter |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| Thanks, our last frost is generally around the turkey season opener (the 3d weekend in march) but then again, we are normally cold now, we have been getting upwards towards 80 the past few days. My airconditioning has been on more this winter than my heat, that is a first. If I get a freeze that kills my blooms on my moro blood orange, will they come back when it warms up again? |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| I just had the same dilemma with my citrus and my blueberries. The way I see it is if the tree is flushing that new growth is very frost tender anyway so you might as well fertilize it as now is when it needs the boost and the fertilizer won't make it any more tender. |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| Ditto, here. All my citrus are beginning to flush early as well. I agree with bamboo, since you're already seeing flush, and there is not way to "shock it back", with the exception of a freeze, I would go ahead and fertilize. If you know you're going to have a freeze, haul out the mini-Christmas tree lights and a freeze protection blanket to protect them, especially anything that is in blossom. That's about all you can do. We're all bemoaning this. Not just my citrus! My Desert Delight nectarine tree is in FULL blossom. It's one of my earliest of my peach/nectarine/plum trees, but this is really about a month early. And, everything is right on it's heels. I will not be getting in a 3rd dormant spray this year, no way. Patty S. |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| Mine are also in the same shape. The moro is starting to bloom and still has about a dozen oranges on it from last fall. Supposed to hit 25 here tomorrow night. I will probably try to string some mini lights on it like Patty suggested. I have a smaller one that is about 3 feet tall that I will probably tent with plastic. It always seems to do this around here every year. The meyers are loaded with bloom buds too as is the ponderosa. I'm kinda sick about it but not much we can do. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Rob |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| Gonna hit the mid 20s tonight and tomorrow night. Was hoping to miss the bullet on anymore freezes, but alas, instead of quail hunting today,(was going to be one of the rare weekends this year where I did not have to worry about my dogs getting snake bit) gotta get my trees ready for tonight. More than anything I just want to save the new growth and blooms, my trees have made it through temps this low without protection this year so not really worried about that. |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| Oh dear, grey! Sorry to hear that. That's quite a dip. Not just to 32. 20 degrees for any length of time is damaging. Please let us know your trees fared. So sorry to hear that. It's been such an odd winter for everyone in the US. Same problems with all the stone fruits, too. All are blossoming prematurely, and with a freeze like that, you'll lose all the blossoms. Bummer. Patty S. |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| 6:00 am and it is 26, sun should be up before long and start warming things up a little I hope. Will be checking out the new growth and blooms in a couple of hours, my fingers are crossed, of course going to have the same thing tonight too. |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| The new growth is done for, it is fried.....oh well, maybe when it warms up it will kick in agains. |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| New growth is starting back the past couple of days, and lo and behold we are having another cold front, this one is not supposed to make it to freezing temps though. I have my fingers crossed, supposed to be 36 tonight, that doesn't bother me, just hoping it doesn't go too much lower. |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| Greyghost: I've done this drill over and over. Last year we had our last freeze in April and it killed my pecan crop. I will mention two late bad citrus killing freezes, there were others. In 1980, we had 25 Deg F on Mar. 5 in Freeport Tx. We thought spring had sprung and it killed new growth bad. Again in 2002 it froze in the first week in March and it was down to 19 to 21 in S.W. Houston. This is why I have strong opinions about when to fertilize, but mostly I try to grow somewhat hardy varieties. I also keep a lot of frost blanket. But frost blanket is most useful to trees which are younger. Larry |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
| In colder zones, early fertilization can really backfire. But, what do you do when your citrus flush, anyway? You're going to have damage no matter what when that happens. It is very frustrating. Even here in our comparably mild San Diego coastal area, we can get a surprise drop in temps. We're having a cold front right now, in fact. The high today was 54. That's cold for San Diego county in March. We got down to 39 last night at my place. Thankfully, things are warming back up, though! Patty S. |
RE: A question for you veteran citrus growers in zones 8 and 9.
| | |
I use a frame with covers and Christmas tree lights and have held my Meyer's trees in good shape to 18F. I put the lights up and frame then leave it there till about now.
I use those outdoor remote controls so I can flip on the lights from inside the house. I circle the bottom of the frame with stretchy plastic that stays ther till spring then cover the top with frost blankets if the lights can't hold the temperature. I have a couple of pictures on my blog if that helps. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia Home Orchard
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Citrus Forum
|
|
|
