Here in western MD our lowest predicted low for the week is 13 which is not at all unusual for the 2nd week of January for us (Z6). The 62 degrees (which we got also) was indeed unusually warm. All my trees are fully dormant and I'm not a bit worried. We also had only 1 time below 20 (I think) and thus far winter has been fairly mild. I figure we'll make up for it somewhere along the line.
I don't grow anything borderline though...for these very reasons.

BTW...57 degree swings inside of 3 days in Jan. is fairly unusual for pretty much all of us in the USA. The buckets and drums will help a lot...anything that doesn't make it was gonna get it sooner or later anyway....don't sweat it.

I'm worried about sub zero temps, so ths is OK. I do have some plants only hardy to about 0 degrees but they are in my garage, so are going to be fine. I know you have a ton more and cannot do that.
Good luck!

Update:
I just heard the weather and last year on this day here it was -14! So I'm very happy this year so far! My peach trees are full of buds, i would like to see what they taste like!

This post was edited by Drew51 on Tue, Jan 6, 15 at 9:09

We are going to have a cold spell here in Omaha, NE. in the next 4 days. Wed -5F, Thur -6F, Fr i-1F, and Sat -3F.

I am going to turn on the light bulb inside my wrapped Ichi Asian persimmon for the next few days. The heat source is the ticket for the tree survival.

Tony

This post was edited by tonytran on Tue, Jan 6, 15 at 10:41

We already got down to -5 F a few weeks ago and now it has moved east. I am crossing my fingers that this is the coldest we get for the year. Usually early January is the time of year that we get our coldest temps and the long term weather looks like we should be warming for a while. Currently the only thing that looks damaged are my blackberries with about a 30% die off of small leaves and twigs. Last year most of the vine and all of the leaves died when we went to -14. I have a hardy Chicago bent down to the ground and mulched over time will tell if this is enough. Last year it was wrapped and all of it died except for a little bit of the stem about half a foot above the soil line. If it lives I pan to keep the main trunk espaliered next to the soil line.

I have 3 peach trees and a sweet cherry planted relatively close together and tented in my orchard with 2 layers of 6 mil plastic. I also have a 500 watt work light out there that I run if its going to be below ten. Last night when it was -9 I went out and checked thermometer inside tent and it read 20. I also have a peach and nectarine tented inside the garage with a light. On those 2 I know the buds are easily kept warm enough but I worry about the root balls getting too cold. the work light sits on the soil in one of the whiskey barrels, but of course heat rises. Can't wait till late March to see if this crazy plan worked! Good luck city man and to the rest.

The last couple of years my figs and pomegranates have died back to the ground. Even being planted up against the south side of the house hasn't helped. Luckily, they always come back from the base, but, of course, I never get any fruit. So, I spent part of the day Sunday digging up two figs and three pomegranate plants, replanting them in pots, and putting them in my greenhouse.

cityman, did you pack the containers with any material? I've found using barrels or buckets alone to cover the plants doesn't seem to help alot. During the night, the air inside the containers gets just as cold as the outside air. I'd also try to pack them with hay or leaves or something else to help hold in heat. Or, you could run some cord and hang a light bulb inside each container instead. That method would probably depend on just how much area and number of plants you have to cover.

Its nice knowing I'm not alone in worrying about the cold! Almost all of my figs (including Chicago Hardy, Celeste, and Brown Turkey which are known to be a little more hardy than others) were killed to the ground last year, in spite of my taking substantial efforts to protect them outside. The good news is that most of them actually came back enough to produce small amounts of fruit this fall so I should count my blessings. Rob, I actually did go to some length to try and protect my figs and very small trees beyond just buckets and 50-gallon metal drums. Before covering them with the buckets/drums, I wrapped them extensively with that thin insulation that comes on rolls and is often put on under vinyl siding (not sure what its called). I wrapped plants all the way to the ground, with many layers, and tied it so it stays around the plant. I then set the buckets and barrels down and piled mulch all around the bottom to ensure a good seal. The bad news is that this method failed me last year so I'm not too optimistic. However, the failure last year wasn't so much from cold (well, perhaps that too) but it was from the rotting. Because the plants were all basically sealed up in an almost air-tight, damp environment, all the wood was completely covered with mildew and mold and was badly rotted. I suspect part of the problem was that I sealed them up in early Nov. and didn't unwrap until early march. This year I didn't "seal up" until January and I'll let them breath as soon as it warms up.

One question- it's a well known fact that some Florida Orange groves use ice as an insulator occasionally. I suspect that this would only be helpful for temps that are slightly below freezing, but I'd like some confirmation on that???? It would be very easy for me to spray water on most of my trees and plants and since this cold snap is predicted to be a short one (1-2 days) I'm wondering if it might help. What say you all? Would there be in value at all in coating my trees/plants with ice when the temp is going to be 0-5 degrees F? Thanks

Cityman,
Here are a couple of articles about using water spray as an insulator.The first is from the University of Florida and Citrus crops and the second is for fruiting plants in general.
The information is somewhat similar and it may have a chance to work at temps above 20F,if I'm reading it right. Brady

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ch182

http://www.smallfruits.org/Weather/frost_freeze.htm

This post was edited by Bradybb on Tue, Jan 6, 15 at 22:14

This is still regular winter cold for the Midwest. We get down to 0F every year here, and we will Wednesday night. Nothing like last year yet.

cityman:

Ice is a very poor insulator. So just spraying your tree until it has some ice on it won't help at all. The mode of action is that a large amount of heat is liberated when water freezes. The same amount in fact that has to be applied to melt ice. Heat in to melt, heat out to freeze. So if you can keep water continuosly freezing on the tree the heat released can hold temperature near 32F.

All sorts of things can go wrong and if dew point is too low or wind blowing it's a sure disaster.

Thanks for the info. I was almost certain that it wasn't a viable option but just had to ask! Thanks. And I agree that these are not abnormally cold temps like last year. Even if we get to 0 here, that is still within the range is listed for my zone (the minimum temp for zone 7a is 0-5 degrees F) and certainly nothing like last year. The fact that its only for one night also eases my mind a bit. As someone else said above, anything that dies this round was probably destined to die anyway fairly soon.

Yeah...the water spray thing works great for Florida citrus growers, but here it is presently 18Fand falling with hurricane like winds. Spraying water on something here would definitely not help matters.
Many do it here in the early spring to protect against frost and freeze damage and it works well when continuously misted. Cold water from the tap will average around 50F in late winter / early spring.

It is currently 1 degree Fahrenheit here with wind chill of -20f +. My seedless red canadice grapes typically get top die back in this weather. Figs etc. Even if wrapped get top dieback. I put the pawpaw in a sheltered location in the lowlands of the property so I'm hopeful they will be ok. They say this is zone 5 but at times it feels closer to zone 4. I previously only ordered zone 3-4 trees because I lost zone 5 trees when I was younger due to cold and wind.

We all have our issues to deal with but low temperature are usually not one for my area. The lows here for the next few days are predicted to be 10-15 degrees. It is rare for it to get much lower. I don't know if win chill is a factor with fruit trees or not but they are supposed to get near zero. Best of luck to each of you with the weather. Bill

What I'm really curious about is whether the predicted 4-5 degree F lows will be more devastating due to the fact that we really haven't had any winter at all here before this.

According to MSU this matters a lot and that the trees do lose cold hardiness with warmer temps. The worst is when it is warm before a cold spell. I didn't think this was true, but it is true. You could even get damage on trees that can withsand -15F weather at 0 F if a warm spell occured before the cold. So cityman, yeah you are in a world of hurt right now. Hopefully some come through, but this is not good news.

What's critical for developing and maintaining maximum hardiness is whether or not the plant tissues stay frozen or thaw out in days prior to severe cold. If the plant stays frozen it can gain the last few degrees of hardiness at the rate of about 1F per day for 10-14 days. If it thaws even once then it has to start over.

What's going on is a redistribution of water within the cells. On thawing water returns to a position in the cells where it can cause damage. While frozen water is drawn out of dangerous position to less damaging. Sort of like water moves around in frozen items in a freezer, freeze drying. Water is being pulled out of leaf and flower buds making them more freeze resistant.

This post was edited by fruitnut on Wed, Jan 7, 15 at 15:42

Looks bad for thecityman though as it was 62 degrees, and no doubt nothing was frozen at all. Down to 5 degrees in three days. Hopefully the trees can take it, probably can if it went to zero or lower it would be bad, so it could be worse.

Thanks for your concern, Drew51. But now I'm more worried than ever! ha., Oh well. The good news is my trees are all 3.5 years old or less, and while I had hoped for a lot of first time fruit this year, my trees might actually benefit from not having fruit and being able to use all energy for growth. Not nearly as fun for me-but maybe better for the trees (assuming only the buds and not the trees are killed!).
Fruitnut, I never cease to be amazed by not only your expertise, but by your ability to convey that knowledge in a way us beginners can understand it. (ie the analogy of freezer burned food). Thanks! But your answer doesn't bode well for the future of my fruit!

Your peaches should be fine at 5F. We have 50-60F swings each week all winter. I've seldom seen winter injury on peach in TX even Amarillo where it regularly went below zero. Things have to be just right to survive -15F but 5F isn't extreme at all for mid winter no matter prior conditioning.

Well we can all hope it turns out. You do grow a lot as no matter what you'll have a harvest, me too. Here my trees can handle that cold for sure as it has been cold most of the winter here. It is a warmer winter for us too, but a warm winter here is 20 degrees. So it's been below freezing pretty much since November here, real steady.
No loss of hardiness for sure.

Thanks to you both for trying to reassure me, but we are now at 4 degrees and the prediction for my area is now -2. That seems like MILES from the 5 degrees I thought was coming. Combined with the fact that it was so warm 3 days ago, I am extremely worried. I hope everyone else makes it ok.

That ole,Artic Low over Hudson Bay is back. Looks very similar to last winter. Big Ridge out west-Drought-for them. Big Trough East-tapping into the North Pole. I had damage last winter here in Iowa-Here we go again,,unfortunately....

Welcome to the new normal. As a distraction look at that cherry plum thread! Nadia! Even if it isn't all that to have a fruit that looks like a giant cherry is pretty cool! i bought one, I couldn't help it!
Think positive you'll now have room for this :)

This post was edited by Drew51 on Thu, Jan 8, 15 at 7:57

PURLING, NY ZIP CODE 12470. -8 DEGREES OVERNIGHT.

Does that mean that I will be getting my apricots and peaches from the A&P this year?.

Mike

-10 is usually where damage begins, you should be OK!

What ever happened to Global Warming?????
Here in Dalton, GA. it went down to 9 this AM and now at 2:52 it is a balmy 27. They say it will not get above freezing until late tomorrow afternoon. Hope my Muscadines made it. Last winter when it went down to 4 I lost about 8 or 10 vines. Tonight it only suppose to go down to 17*. I can hardly wait, for SPRING, that is.

Don't talk about global warming, Muscadine. My upcoming skiing vacation in Europe is ruined. Temps in the 50-60, sunny. And this is the second winter in a row of record breaking temperatures. All the snow they have is artificial, and nothing below 6000 ft as it melts in a day. I was planning to have a sky-in apartment at 3300 ft... Guess I will go see some monuments in a T-shirt, hopefully I can get the deposit back.

It's snowing in the Middle East today.
Glib, I'm confused as the last two years Europe has been super cold. Plant die off there has been extreme. A huge storm is about to hit there too. I listen to the BBC all the time.

From Fox weather
Another effect of these powerful winds will be blizzard conditions across the higher terrain of Scotland. Snow already on the ground along with snow falling during the storm will lead to whiteout conditions which will bring travel to a standstill early Friday morning. ...strong wind gusts in excess of 40 mph will be possible across Denmark, northern Nethernlands and northern Germany on Friday.

Attention will then turn to the second storm which will have more widespread impacts from Friday night through Sunday.

OK, i looked into it further and some parts are warm and some are cold. A mixed bag. The north being colder. And yes they did have a mild winter last year. looks a little colder this year. I did read this from Accuweather
Ski conditions will be fantastic for the 2014-2015 ski season, especially when compared to last year,â AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
The first significant snowstorm of the year has already occurred across the Swiss and Austrian Alps. This winter, an active storm track and cold air will promote frequent big snow events for the Pyrenees, Alps and the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula.âÂÂ

This post was edited by Drew51 on Thu, Jan 8, 15 at 17:49

This is Italy, where in 2014 the olive crop failed due to the very warm 2013-2014 winter (which did not kill the olive fly). All my friends with olive groves lost their crop. You can check any current Dolomiti webcam if you don't believe me about current conditions. There is still time (I am going in 10 days), but no freezing temperatures yet in the valleys (day or night). And they are north of here (SE MI)! At least we will travel light, just carry-on for ten days.

Cityman, I've gotta laugh, I was the city supt. for our very small town doing everything I could to keep the water and sewer systems going, road work, etc.. In general, the town's people revered to me as ,"the city man". Don't suppose you are in a similar circumstance?

I'm with Glib....the last thing in the world I wanted to do was create another 200 post debate on global warming! It's also interesting to hear from other countries and less common crops (olives). You also confirmed that no matter where you live or what you grow, the weather can have profound impact on it and there are always challenges with growing things. We ended up getting to 0 degrees here and predicted 8 degrees tonight, so based on the kind, optimistic comments above I may be ok- even though it was an incredibly rapid drop in temperature.
Michael357- Sounds like we have a LOT in common! That was an incredible guess based only on a username, but a correct one. "City Man" fits me for 2 reasons. One is for the reason most assume I selected it- a city boy living in the country. All of my adult live was spent living in medium/large cities, until I moved to the country 3 years ago. Everyone says I'm the epitome of Oliver Douglass from Green Acres and expect to see me wearing a suit on my tractor! ha. Strangely, I like the analogy. ha. But the other reason I selected "Cityman" is EXACTLY what you guessed....my job title is, in fact, City Manager. And because it is a fairly small city, just like you, my day to day work is varied more than just supervising department heads and budgets. As you know, in smaller towns duties are most definitely varied and "as assigned". But I love the work!
Anyway, I hope the rest of you made it through the cold without any damage. Around here we only have about 6 weeks of potential hard freeze weather left. Of course then I get to worry about late frosts which can be equally damaging to crops. Ahhh....its always something but all of you know that! Does anyone feel the current freeze damaged your trees/orchards/grapes/berries?

Yep city man varied is right, ditch digger, snow plow operator, receiver of much criticism, dog catcher ( I wish) and always in the middle of warring factions even when trying to stay out. Too early to tell how the trees and such are doing besides, this ain't over yet!

Cityman! Hi, We're in the same zone. I have five peach trees two are 9 years old and three others are about four years old. You will probably not have a problem at all. I have never had a problem with winter freezes in our area. What is far worse are the late spring frosts. That I would worry about. Right now your trees are just fine. Mrs. G