Global Warming, Spring, and the cruelty of Mother Nature.

[Denninmi]

Yup, I was afraid of this!

The most bizarre weather in March I ever remember:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html

Which may have been exacerbated by global warming:

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/global-warming-increased-odds-of-march-heatwave-experts-say/

and possibly by solar flares:

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/22mar_saber/

has brought most of my fruit trees into bloom -- apricots are already dropping petals, peaches, almonds, nectarines, Japanese plums in full bloom. Cherries and European plums showing white tips. Pears and apples not there yet.

So, of course, what is it going to do Monday night? Drop into the mid 20's, with windchills in the teens:

"Monday Night: Areas of frost after midnight. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 26."
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Pontiac&state=MI&site=DTX&textField1=42.6491&textField2=-83.2872&e=0

Whether it's global warming, solar flares, or just plain bad luck, the outcome is going to be the same for fruit growers in Michigan, crop damage or even crop loss. Mother Nature must hate us.

[JDPriestly]

1. When it gets cold (meaning in the 40s) in Southern California, I put old

sheer curtains or clear plastic over my plants. Would that help? The plastic is pretty good at keeping things warm. How tall are your trees? Would it be feasible to put something over them or around the blossoms and starting fruit?

[Denninmi]

2. No, not really.

I've got over 100 fruit trees, most are standards.

I'll monitor it, and if it looks like I may be able to save them, I'll go out around 3:00 in the morning and hose everything so it has a good coating of ice. That helps a lot.

Mostly, though, at this point, I'm hoping that they are wrong.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. Wetting everything down is the only help you can give.

I hope that they are wrong too---but it IS early and frosts and cold weather are still a real possibility.

Good luck.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. We've had a very early spring here in Arkansas.

In February our actual low temps ran from 19F to 50F with high temps from 36F to 77F. Big fluctuations. Our averages for the same month are lows around 30-33 and highs in the upper 50's. Everything bloomed early from daffodils on February 1 to the forsythia bush which had already bloomed and dropped it's petals a week before it's average bloom time. I think I saw blackberry vines blooming yesterday! The fruit trees have been blooming for a few weeks now. From the forecasts I've been seeing, the fruit crop may be safe this year. People have been mowing their lawns for a couple of weeks now.

We don't normally have hard winters here, but this has been an unusually mild winter. After the horrible summer we had last year (35 days in a row of 100F+ with an all time record high of 115F), a lot of us are dreading what may be coming this year. I can't say for sure what the causes are, but I haven't heard much from the "where's your global warming now" crowd.