Across much of the Northeast, flower and fruit growers are dealing with an abrupt shift in weather that has turned routine spring expectations into a gamble. In some areas, plants that began responding to unseasonably warm conditions have then been hit by a rapid temperature drop and freeze threats, potentially damaging blooms and affecting the timing of harvests.
The whiplash pattern has built on a seasonal baseline: frost is not unusual this time of year. The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University said the average date of the last frost across the region ranges from mid-April to early June, but the early part of April ran unusually warm for much of the area, making the subsequent cold snap potentially more damaging.
The warm-up included high temperatures that reached the upper 70s in at least some locations, while cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., saw highs in the 90s, according to the National Weather Service. By the weekend, temperatures fell into the 50s across the region, and parts of New England reported snow showers as the cold moved in.
This week’s conditions added to the pressure on growers. The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning for Monday night and Tuesday morning for parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, setting the stage for overnight cold that can threaten early budding and flowering.
In Ohio, Apple Hill Orchards saw the effects of timing mismatches after warm weather accelerated the start of bud development. Owner Anne Joudrey said warm conditions pushed peach and apple trees to start budding early, but then temperatures dropped into the low 20s, ruining one variety of peach.
Joudrey said on Monday that the orchard had expected the initial bloom to translate into a better crop. “Farming is farming, and you never know what you’re gonna get, but we had a pretty good bloom, so we were expecting a pretty good crop,” she said. She also said the apples were doing OK and noted that the trees are planted on high ground so cold air drains away.
The disruptions were also felt in Vermont, where cut-flower production depends on tightly managed growth and harvest schedules. Understory Farm in Bridport grows tulips for wholesale markets, and owner Gregory Witscher said tulips expected to be ready for Mother’s Day in mid-May had already bloomed inside the farm’s greenhouses.
Witscher said the earlier blooming means the farm must change how it harvests and stores flowers. “That just means that we have to harvest them all at the same time,” he said, adding that crews must harvest and store tulips with the bulbs on in crates in a walk-in cooler for longer.
Because the farm grows many types of flowers, Witscher said the bigger challenge is needing enough options to respond when weather swings again. He said weather fluctuations require flexibility and have become more common for small vegetable and flower farms, which may use row covers or heaters to protect plants from cold, or shade cloth during extreme heat.
Witscher described the recent sequence as an especially intense kind of weather instability. “With the hot weather and then the cold weather, I think it’s intense, and it makes things challenging,” he said. He added that as he has done the work longer, he has focused on having “as many options as possible” and tools to stay nimble as conditions change.