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Bloom Too Soon

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Since Robb and I have lived in the Bay Area, we've noticed that we get an unseasonably warm week every February.  It's a nice break from winter. Everyone gets to run around in short sleeves, and spirits are high.

But this year, I'm actually a bit nervous about the weather.  The fruit trees are blooming, far too early.  Glancing back at previous blog entries, it seems to me that we're two weeks ahead of schedule.

Our young pluot tree is covered in blooms, which I imagine will all be knocked off when normal winter returns.  I can't imagine that any of these blossoms will be pollinated, meaning that no fruit will set.



Our plum tree is also just about to erupt into bloom.  I should be delighted, but instead I'm filled with dread.

I've read so much about the disruption of the natural seasonal cycles, thanks to global climate change.  Birds migrating, only to find that the food they need isn't available yet.  Fish moving to colder waters, causing starvation among seabirds.

I'm trying not to worry about my tiny orchard, but I'm not optimistic.






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kitsapFG said…
The too early budding is becoming a pretty common problem throughout much of the US anymore. Unfortunately, too often the weather reverts back to decidedly winter and the crops suffer as a result. I will keep my fingers crossed for you that this year it sustains itself enough that you don't experience a crop loss.
8:53 AM
Michelle said…
I live in Chicago, and we've had a similarly unseasonably warm winter. I had a neighbor tell me her tulips were starting to come up about a month ago. Since then, temperatures have dropped, but I'm feeling a dread about the weather and the implications of having such strange temperature variations.
9:55 AM
judithandsparky said…
Here in North GA it's a very common problem. A nice week in Feb. will have all the flowering trees in bud or flowering then comes the last part of Feb when we generally get some really cold (to us) weather. I've seen several pink dogwoods already in full bloom.
10:56 AM
Bee Girl said…
Our fruit trees aren't as far as yours are, but they are beginning to bud just the littlest bit. I wrote about our worries yesterday and have my fingers crossed for all of our trees and future harvests!
10:56 AM
Barbie~ said…
Yup. My peaches are budding and it froze 2 nights this week. It's a hot mess.
1:54 PM
Andrea said…
Each year seems to bring some sort of challenge to the gardener but the weather over the last couple of years has been the main one for us.Plenty of fruit(none last season) set but then no rain, I have netted the trees, the fruit is small but tasty I picked my first batch of plums today for jam making.
6:46 PM
Mary Hysong said…
My plum trees aren't budding out yet, but I will be keeping an eye on them the next few weeks. Even in 'normal' years we have a late storm that often brings snow after they are blooming. The only way I get plums is to cover them with frost blankets then and encase them in bird netting later!
10:47 AM
Curbstone Valley Farm said…
I was surprised to find our Aprium about to burst with blooms this morning. The plums and pluots are little behind, but not much. Of course, the flower buds were all frozen, as it rained yesterday, then froze overnight. I wish the weather would make up its mind! Like you, I'm worried that despite all the bud set, it might be all for nothing!
7:10 PM
zippiknits...sometimes said…
We live far to the South of you, but our citrus trees just got nailed with the cold overnight temps. I don't think we'll get many lemons or limes this year because it it. But deciduous fruiting trees in other people's plantings didn't suffer.
6:40 AM
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