Deep Freeze in the Orchard

We have been receiving a lot of questions on how the cold weather affects our fruit trees. To answer the question, our Orchard Master relayed that a deep freeze in the middle of winter generally does not have an adverse affect on our trees. However, very low temperatures can freeze the fruit buds of some varieties of peaches like Sentry, for example. There is a reason, though, that we do not prune our stone fruits (peaches, cherries, plums) in the dead of winter. Because the wood is softer, the cold can enter a fresh pruning wound and kill tissue in the area around the cut, causing what we call "die back" in the branch that was cut.