We’re all at the mercy of Mother Nature when it comes to fruit growing, and this year, she handed us a tough lesson. Last week, our diligent volunteer Rael gave me a heads-up about a frost forecast for the night of April 24, 2024, with temperatures expected to hit 0°C. I thought that our apricot blossoms could handle anything above -2°C. Turns out, I was wrong.

A few years back, we dodged a similar bullet by covering our apricot trees with tarps during a frost, and we enjoyed a bountiful harvest. Confident from past success, I decided not to cover the trees this time. That was a mistake. By Wednesday night, the temperature dipped to 0°C. The next morning, what we found was heartbreaking: our beautiful apricot blossoms had turned into a mushy mess. You can see the devastation for yourself in the photos above.

When it comes to fruit trees, dead blossoms = no fruit harvest this year. This deepens our appreciation for the challenges that professional growers face every season. For those looking to learn more about how frost affects fruit trees, be sure to check out this article on fruit trees and frost.

The blossoming plum trees did survive the frost. And let’s hope the trees that will soon blossom (apples, Asian pears, cherries) will be able to thrive without another frost even later in the spring.

Stay tuned and stay hopeful! And come and join us in the orchard. To volunteer send an email to growingforgreen (at) gmail.com.

Susan Poizner is one of the volunteers for The Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard in Toronto. She is the creator of the fruit tree care education website OrchardPeople.com.  Susan is the author of four fruit tree care books including Grow Fruit Trees Fast: A Beginner’s Guide to a Healthy Harvest in Record Time. She is also the host of the Orchard People podcast and an ISA Certified Arborist.