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LinkedInAn Unusual Spring
We had a pretty mild winter, in spite of the freeze damage that occurred in the Central Valley. Now we are seeing what happens when there's not enough chilling to break bud. There is erratic flowering and leaf out. This can be quite pronounced in such trees as peach and apricots, apples and pears. There can be well developed fruit, flowers and a leaf flush all occurring at the same time. We select low chill varieties when we know the climate where we live won't regularly get a certain amount of cold sufficient to cause an even bloom. But sometimes it just doesn't get cold enough for a long enough period. Even 'Hass' avocado requires about 50 hours below 45 deg to properly leaf out. This is happening to some of our native trees as well, such as sycamore
Below is a photo of a confused peach taken by Lynn Wunderlich
uneven peach bloom
