Citrus Growers Forum

mrtexas · Posted: Thu 03 Feb, 2011 4:03 pm

Here in SE TX my clementine tree is not liking the freezing weather very much. Every tree but the satsumas are showing some damage like this. The satsumas, somewhat less. I'm glad I banked my smaller trees or else they would be dead!

The first night we had 19 hours of freezing weather to 23F, the second 15 hours to 27F. As far as duration this is a very bad freeze!

Beaumont,TX
1-Feb
5:53 PM 33.1 °F Clear
6:53 PM 32.0 °F Clear
7:53 PM 30.0 °F Clear
8:53 PM 28.0 °F Partly Cloudy
9:53 PM 28.0 °F Scattered Clouds
10:53 PM 26.6 °F Clear
11:53 PM 25.0 °F Clear
2-Feb
12:53 AM 25.0 °F Clear
1:53 AM 25.0 °F Clear
2:53 AM 24.8 °F Partly Cloudy
3:53 AM 24.1 °F Clear
4:53 AM 23.0 °F Scattered Clouds
5:53 AM 21.9 °F Mostly Cloudy
6:53 AM 21.9 °F Clear
7:53 AM 21.9 °F Mostly Cloudy
8:53 AM 21.9 °F Overcast
9:53 AM 24.1 °F Overcast
10:53 AM 25.0 °F Mostly Cloudy
11:53 AM 28.0 °F Mostly Cloudy
12:53 PM 30.0 °F Mostly Cloudy
1:53 PM 34.0 °F Overcast
2:53 PM 35.1 °F Overcast
3:53 PM 35.1 °F Overcast
4:53 PM 35.1 °F Overcast
5:53 PM 35.1 °F Overcast
6:53 PM 33.1 °F Clear
7:53 PM 33.1 °F Clear
8:53 PM 32.0 °F Clear
9:53 PM 32.0 °F Clear
10:53 PM 30.9 °F Clear
11:53 PM 30.9 °F Clear
3-Feb
12:53 AM 32.0 °F Overcast
1:53 AM 32.0 °F Overcast
2:53 AM 32.0 °F Overcast
3:53 AM 32.0 °F Overcast
4:53 AM 32.0 °F Overcast
5:53 AM 30.9 °F Overcast
6:53 AM 30.9 °F Overcast
7:53 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
8:53 AM 32.0 °F Overcast
9:53 AM 32.0 °F Overcast
11:53 AM 33.1 °F Overcast
12:53 PM 33.1 °F Overcast
1:53 PM 34.0 °F Overcast
2:53 PM 32.0 °F Light Rain
3:53 PM 32.0 °F Overcast
4:53 PM 30.9 °F Mostly Cloudy
5:53 PM 30.9 °F Overcast
6:53 PM 30.9 °F Overcast
7:53 PM 30.9 °F Overcast
8:53 PM 30.9 °F Overcast
9:53 PM 30.9 °F Overcast
10:53 PM 30.9 °F Overcast
11:53 PM 30.9 °F Overcast

Feb 4
12:53 AM 30.9 °F Overcast
1:53 AM 30.9 °F Overcast
2:02 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
2:23 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
2:45 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
2:53 AM 30.9 °F Overcast
3:36 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
3:51 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
3:53 AM 30.9 °F Overcast
4:53 AM 30.0 °F Overcast
5:25 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
5:43 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
5:53 AM 30.0 °F Overcast
6:28 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
6:35 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
6:53 AM 30.0 °F Overcast
7:13 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
7:26 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
7:53 AM 30.0 °F Overcast
8:53 AM 30.0 °F Overcast
9:32 AM 30.2 °F Mostly Cloudy
9:53 AM 30.9 °F Overcast
10:26 AM 30.2 °F Overcast
10:53 AM 32.0 °F Mostly Cloudy
11:53 AM 32.0 °F Overcast
12:53 PM 32.0 °F Overcast
1:24 PM 30.2 °F Overcast
1:53 PM 32.0 °F Overcast
2:36 PM 32.0 °F Mostly Cloudy
2:53 PM 32.0 °F Overcast
3:20 PM 32.0 °F Mostly Cloudy
3:30 PM 32.0 °F Scattered Clouds
3:37 PM 32.0 °F Mostly Cloudy
3:53 PM 30.9 °F Mostly Cloudy
4:05 PM 32.0 °F Mostly Cloudy
4:27 PM 30.2 °F Mostly Cloudy
4:53 PM 30.9 °F Overcast
5:01 PM 30.2 °F Overcast

TRI · Posted: Thu 03 Feb, 2011 7:46 pm

It may not be frozen. The wilting is a defense from cold not necessarily freeze damage. The same thing happened to my citrus trees last year and when the weather warmed showed no damage.

TRI · Posted: Thu 03 Feb, 2011 8:09 pm

The leaves turn white when frozen usually in spots unless it is really really cold then the whole leaf freezes and stays on the plant if the wood is damaged. Back in the 2004 Christmas freeze I had some frozen leaves on meyer lemons from evaporative cooling cause by freezing rain, very stong winds, and temperautures in the 20s. The meyer lemons next to a brick house had no damage at all. The location can be very important. No damage to satsumas in that freeze.

Did you suffer damage in that freeze?

Here the temperatures are cold but the temperature did not go below 27 F so far.

How many hours below 28F in this freeze in your area?

mrtexas · Posted: Thu 03 Feb, 2011 8:27 pm

TRI wrote:

The leaves turn white when frozen usually in spots unless it is really really cold then the whole leaf freezes and stays on the plant if the wood is damaged. Back in the 2004 Christmas freeze I had some frozen leaves on meyer lemons from evaporative cooling cause by freezing rain, very stong winds, and temperautures in the 20s. The meyer lemons next to a brick house had no damage at all. The location can be very important. No damage to satsumas in that freeze.

Did you suffer damage in that freeze?

Here the temperatures are cold but the temperature did not go below 27 F so far.

How many hours below 28F in this freeze in your area?

The trees look better than they did in the freeze a year ago to 19F. All but the satsumas defoliated and no fruit this year. No damage in 2004. All trees killed in Christmas of 1989 freeze to 10F. Some small trees froze to the soil bank this year.

The last two nights have been 19 and 15 hours below freezing. Brrr! We thawed out at noon today but as of 4pm we are back below freezing!

TRI · Posted: Thu 03 Feb, 2011 9:23 pm

I was not growing citrus in 1989 but I know it was really really cold. My uncle had frozen pipes in his home thousands dollars in damage! It snowed here during that freeze! We had over 3 inches and some places even more! My celeste fig tree survived that freeze though. The ligustrums froze not far from here.

I am going to bank my mature trees soon. I have all the materials and it should only take a short time. You had a great idea using pots to hold the soil around the trunk. I could not find pots large enough so I built my containers using wood. There is no cold protection more reliable than the classic soil bank.

mrtexas · Posted: Thu 03 Feb, 2011 9:44 pm

TRI wrote:

I was not growing citrus in 1989 but I know it was really really cold. My uncle had frozen pipes in his home thousands dollars in damage! It snowed here during that freeze! We had over 3 inches and some places even more! My celeste fig tree survived that freeze though. The ligustrums froze not far from here.

I am going to bank my mature trees soon. I have all the materials and it should only take a short time. You had a great idea using pots to hold the soil around the trunk. I could not find pots large enough so I built my containers using wood. There is no cold protection more reliable than the classic soil bank.

I found some cattle molasses tubs for next to nothing. They are about 50 gallons. I have some new 10 gallon pots I can sell for cost if you are interested(too heavy when full). I don't know where you live.

Millet · Posted: Fri 04 Feb, 2011 1:25 am

TRI's estimation that your tree may not dead, can easily be correct. Cold sufficiently intense to defoliate the tree may injure to some extent the young tender growth without severe damage to the larger branches. Much depends, of course on the degree of dormancy, for the twigs resist a considerable degree of cold if sufficiently dormant. Large branches are injured only by intense cold, and the top of a tree may be very decidedly cut back by frost /freeze before the large branches are affected. If your tree is not dead, and I don't think it is, the first part of the tree to be damaged, or killed, are the leaves, next would be the twigs, then the smaller branches ,followed by the larger branches, and the last thing to be damage or killed is the trunk. The full effect of this freezing weather will not be known for several months. Good luck to you and your trees. Phil we wish you the best outcome.- Millet (711-)

TRI · Posted: Fri 04 Feb, 2011 1:42 am

It can be hard to know the extent of cold injury until really warm weather arrives in the spring and summer. The second grow flush in summer usually wilts and dies if the wood is severely damaged. That is why they recommend against pruning cold damaged plants until summer. The real big test comes in summer when the temperatures rise above 90F in May/June time frame.

mrtexas · Posted: Fri 04 Feb, 2011 2:50 am

Millet wrote:

TRI's estimation that your tree may not dead, can easily be correct. Cold sufficiently intense to defoliate the tree may injure to some extent the young tender growth without severe damage to the larger branches. Much depends, of course on the degree of dormancy, for the twigs resist a considerable degree of cold if sufficiently dormant. Large branches are injured only by intense cold, and the top of a tree may be very decidedly cut back by frost /freeze before the large branches are affected. If your tree is not dead, and I don't think it is, the first part of the tree to be damaged, or killed, are the leaves, next would be the twigs, then the smaller branches ,followed by the larger branches, and the last thing to be damage or killed is the trunk. The full effect of this freezing weather will not be known for several months. Good luck to you and your trees. Phil we wish you the best outcome.- Millet (711-)

No, the tree is not dead. It just has some slight damage to the leaves. Worst that could happen is defoliation and another year without fruit but I'm not expecting the worst. There are no cracks so far on any branches. I picked this tree to photograph because the leaf damage was the most apparent. My large blood orange tree is looking similar. Even my large satsuma trees have some suspect looking leaves.

We haven't had this duration of freeze since 1989.

Millet · Posted: Fri 04 Feb, 2011 6:45 pm

The tree that you place the removable greenhouse over, should be looking good. - Millet (710-)

mrtexas · Posted: Fri 04 Feb, 2011 9:43 pm

Millet wrote:

The tree that you place the removable greenhouse over, should be looking good. - Millet (710-)

I wish that were true. The greenhouse is at someone else's house!

The last 24 hours don't look so good, all freezing or under. My house is usually a few degrees warmer-I hope!

I saw lots of ice on leaves today!

TRI · Posted: Sat 05 Feb, 2011 2:25 am

Ice on leaves is bad because of evaporative cooling. In 2004 one of my citrus plants suffered some damage from ice. Very happy my plants do not have ice on them this time. The high today was around 38F and still above freezing. The low tonight is probably around 28F maybe 27F. It is next week I am worried about.