Lots of new growth on the mangos

Datropicalman · Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 132 Location: phx

They really like this mild weather. Most of the trees are pushing out new leaves

MKIVRYAN · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 154 Location: Phoenix/Scottsdale

I lost mine a while ago. I need to stop by sometime and get another one from you.

Amadioranch · Joined: 07 Jan 2012 Posts: 88

Mine are all pushing new growth too. Kinda wish they wouldnt because im sure the new growth wont be hardened enough before the next freeze. We get really cold out here in Laveen. Already seen 22 degrees this winter and even now we touch 33 or 34 degrees at night.

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 2:19 pm Post subject:

Nice photo. You have a good size yard. Yes, sounds like mangoes are a challenge there.

Amadioranch · Joined: 07 Jan 2012 Posts: 88

Thanks! We are on a flood irrigated acre and a half lot. A acre of it is pasture for our animals (we try to raise as much of our own food as possible). We are considering someday planting the whole pasture as orchard. Someday......

myamberdog · Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:35 pm Post subject:

Wow - I'll say mangos must be a challenge, but you've got some nice structures to protect them...and nice size property too! A real farm, Amadio. But I agree with you - this pushing of growth in the beginning of winter is soooooo dangerous once a few real cold nights hit! I wish everybody luck...

myamberdog

Amadioranch · Joined: 07 Jan 2012 Posts: 88

Still pushing new growth. This growth is unusual, thinking it might be the beginning of flowering?? This is on a corriente seedling mango. About 4 ft high.

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:20 am Post subject:

Yep, that's flowers. I find that my mangoes flower fairly early every year, but it depends on the variety. The earliest flowers sometime in February I think.

This year the flowering is strange for everything. My loquat flowered in November (usually flowers in March), my white Sapote flowered around Christmas (usually flowers February), and my Earli Grande peach is starting to push out flowers right now (usually flowers at the beginning of February).

We had some unusually cold weather in October. Maybe that has something to do with it, but this is definitely the weirdest "plant schedule" year I have seen.

On the positive side, if we can escape this winter without anymore cold snaps, this is going to a nice long spring, and the plants will have a nice long time to grow and prosper before summer hits.

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:33 am Post subject: Weather Analysis

Here is an interesting article. So far it looks like the jet stream is doing exactly the reverse of what is was last year. Let's hope it doesn't drop the hammer on us in March again.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57358658/whatever-happened-to-winter/

Another article from Canada. Looks like they are back to their norm up there.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/01/14/deep-freeze-returns

The jet stream pattern normally pulls cold air out of the arctic and does a u-shape through the center of the U.S. Typically the trough runs to the east of AZ and bottoms out in Texas, which is why we are warmer than them even though we are at the same lattitude. Last year the jet stream went almost straight down the west coast and hammered us with cold air. This year it is staying very far north and pulling our warm air into the Midwest. However, near the change of seasons when the temperature difference between the arctic and the middle latitudes becomes less dramatic, the jet stream gets unstable and can do weird things. That's why we got hit in March last year.

The fact that arctic temperatures have been warmer than usual in the last couple of decades makes the temperature difference between the middle latitude and the arctic air smaller throughout the winter, which makes the jet stream more unstable all winter, not just in spring and fall.

Amadioranch · Joined: 07 Jan 2012 Posts: 88

Thanks for the run down on whats going on in the big picture. I honestly have tunnel vision and only pay attention to whats going on here. Dont watch broadcast TV so I never see a national weather forecast anymore. Pretty much just watch my weather channel app on my phone. Last winter was brutal. I wasnt monitoring then (i now have probes scattered about the property) but on our coldest morning my truck read 18 degrees. Knowing that its under a cover in a protected place in the property im betting that we were likely closer to 15 degrees out in the orchard. In all my life (am a native) ive never heard of water pipes freezing and bursting here yet on that night we had several copper pipes freeze and burst here at the ranch.

You know im grateful for it. It showed me how bad it can get. My frost protection may look like overkill but if we get a repeat of last year, I know for a fact that my tropicals will be warm and cozy. We have already seen 22 degrees as a low this winter.