North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Kieran and Donna" <redherring@tnaccess.com>]

Jim wrote:
  "Last year the thermometer dipped to only -25° F and my four hardiest trees produced bountifully.  The temperature dipped to -35° F this last Winter and only two trees each produced only one blossom."

 

First you have to keep the tree alive, then you can work on bud hardiness.  Even -6 has been known to freeze them out here in Tennessee.  Something I'd like to see someone try is DMSO.  I've read that a 10% solution sprayed on peach buds will stop them from freezing.  DMSO is used to store sample tissues and will protect them from freeze damage, so it should work, though it may not be so easy in the great outdoors.  You can buy DMSO from a veterinarian.  You could try the first winter by marking a few experimental branches and just running a paintbrush of the stuff along the twigs when temps are about to drop dramatically, or if caught by surprise you can go out before they thaw and treat them.  If you did this in the worst of the winter, you might also need to get them again in a late frost.  DMSO is harmless stuff, they slather it on horses all the time.  I've read you can thaw out frozen fingers in it to eliminate frostbite, a handy thing to know if you're gonna try spraying your peaches in a roaring blizzard.  Your neighbors will think you've finally cracked, maybe they'll take up a collection to send you to Florida.   Donna