Critical spring temperatures for tree fruit bud stages

Questions about this information? Contact us. April 12, 2011

Updated from an original article written by Mark Longstroth.

Michigan and Washington State data to help judge the potential for injury.

View the data in the table below or view as a pdf file.

Pome Fruit
Apples	Silver tip	Green Tip	½ inch green	Tight Cluster		First Pink		Full Pink		First Bloom		Full Bloom	Post Bloom
Old temp 10% kill 90% kill	16 15 2	16 18 10	22 23 15	27 27 21		27 28 24		28 28 25		28 28 25		29 28 25	29 28 25
Pears	Bud Swell	Bud Burst		Tight cluster		First White		Full White		First Bloom		Full Bloom	Post Bloom
Old temp 10% kill 90% kill	18 15 0	23 20 6		24 24 15		28 25 19		29 26 22		29 27 23		29 28 24	30 28 24
Stone Fruit
Apricots	Bud Swell	Bud Burst	Red Tip		First White		First Bloom		Full Bloom		In the Shuck		Green Fruit
Old temp 10% kill 90% kill	-- 15 --	23 20 0	-- 22 9		25 24 14		-- 25 19		28 27 22		-- 27 24		31 28 25
Peaches	Bud Swell	Calyx Green	Calyx Red				First Pink		First Bloom		Full Bloom		Post Bloom
Old temp 10% kill 90% kill	23 18 1	-- 21 5	-- 23 9				25 25 15		-- 26 21		27 27 24		30 28 25
European Plums	Bud Swell	Side White	Tip Green		Tight Cluster		First White		First Bloom		Full Bloom		Post Bloom
Old temp 10% kill 90% kill	-- 14 0	-- 17 3	-- 20 7		-- 24 16		23 26 22		27 27 23		27 28 23		30 28 23
Sweet Cherries	Bud Swell	Side Green	Green Tip	Tight Cluster		Open Cluster		First White		First Bloom		Full Bloom	Post Bloom
Old temp 10% kill 90% kill	23 17 5	23 22 9	25 25 14	28 26 17		28 27 21		29 27 24		29 28 25		29 28 25	30 28 25
Tart Cherries	Bud Swell	Side Green	Green Tip	Tight Cluster		Open Cluster		First White		First Bloom		Full Bloom
10% kill 90% kill	15 0	24 10	26 22	26 24		28 24		28 24		28 24		28 24

Old standard temperature is the lowest temperature that can be endured for 30 minutes without damage. This chart also shows the temperature that will kill 10 % and 90 % of normal fruit buds. These numbers were taken from Washington State University (WSU), and Michigan State University Extension (MSU) bulletins.

Apple - WSU EB0913
Pears - WSU EB0978
Cherries - WSU EB1128
Peaches - WSU EB0914
Apricots - WSU EB1240
Concord Grapes - WSU EB1615
Tart Cherries - MSU Research. Rpt. 220

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).