I’m sure many of you have noticed how inaccurate the weather forecast was over the past 24 hours. While the minimum temperature was predicted to be 27°F, we recorded temperatures below 24°F for over an hour early this morning (4/9) at the ASH Jr. AREC research farm in Winchester. Unfortunately, this unexpected dip resulted in severe damage to both our apple and stone fruit crops. The extent of injury far exceeds what anyone might have anticipated based on the forecasted temperature profiles from Monday and Tuesday. Following the freeze event we witnessed this morning, my team collected flower samples from multiple cultivars and species across the farm. Below is a summary of our findings:

In stone fruits, Red Haven peaches showed 66% flower mortality, while SunHigh peaches experienced complete (100%) loss. Cherries were also heavily impacted, with 64% of flowers dead. Among apples, Pink Lady suffered total flower loss—100% mortality of both king and lateral flowers. ‘Honeycrisp’ on MM.111 rootstock showed the most severe damage, with 92.5% king and 87.2% lateral flower mortality. On B.9 rootstock, ‘Honeycrisp’ fared slightly better but still showed high injury levels (90% king and 47% lateral mortality). ‘Gala’ trees showed 75% mortality in king flowers and 47% in lateral flowers, while ‘Fuji’ was the least affected—likely due to being slightly behind in development—with only 18% and 15% mortality, respectively. ‘Red Delicious’ experienced consistent and heavy damage, with 100% king flower mortality and lateral flower losses ranging from 75% to 85%, averaging around 81%.

I strongly encourage all growers to carefully assess their own orchards—don’t rely solely on visual inspection from the outside. I was surprised to find that several peach flowers appeared normal until I dissected them, only to find the ovaries completely dead. Keep in mind, your apple thinning decisions will hinge heavily on the extent of damage caused by this freeze. I’ve attached several images (see above) to help illustrate what we’re considering alive versus dead when evaluating flower buds.