2026 Winter Damage Update
Winter Damage Update 2026
With varying winter temperatures throughout the season in Kentucky, it is inevitable that our crops will sustain some bud damage. On February 12th, we collected flower buds from the field to determine the percentage of damage for our apples, peaches, blackberries, and blueberries planted on the University of Kentucky North Farm and Horticulture Research Farm.
With temperatures in the upper 70s late last week and over the weekend, it’s important to understand how much damage our crops have before the spring frosts start.
Apples
We assessed 50 apple buds and found they sustained 10% damage from the winter weather. This spring, we’ll have plenty of blooms left to set a full crop in our orchard, as we only need small portion of the blooms on our trees to be viable and fertilized to have a fully crop load for the year.
Peaches
We assessed 256 buds across 3 varieties of peaches (‘Contender’, ‘July Prince’, and ‘Loring’). ‘Contender’ showed the least amount of damage of the peach varieties at 17% death. ‘July Prince’ and ‘Loring’ both had 43% damage.
Blueberries
We analyzed 90 ‘Calypso’ blueberry buds and found 10% damage.
Blackberries
We also assessed 90 ‘Triple Crown’ blackberry buds to find 42% winter damage of the buds.
Summary
The table below summarizes the percentage of damage on each crop from the information above.
| Crop | % Damage on February 12th, 2026 |
|---|---|
| ‘Calypso’ Blueberry | 10% |
| Apple | 10% |
| ‘Triple Crown’ Blackberry | 42% |
| ‘July Prince’ Peach | 43% |
| ‘Contender’ Peach | 17% |
| ‘Loring’ Peach | 43% |
Table 1: Percentage of floral bud damage on ‘Calypso’ Blueberry, Apples, ‘Triple Crown’ Blackberries, ‘July Prince’ Peach, ‘Contender’ Peach, and ‘Loring’ Peach on February 12th
What to do with this information?
There's no reason to panic! Despite winter damage for each crop and with the upcoming spring frosts, it is inevitable we will still lose some buds, but the good news is, we can still set a good crop!
With the high likelihood of losing buds from weather events this spring, there are a few things we can do to increase the chances of setting a good crop on the viable buds we still have. It’s important to be aware of the amount of material you are pruning off your plants. Pruning too much can cause you to lose most of your potential crop, but not pruning enough can cause you to overcrop this year. You can also increase the amount of pollinators you have in your orchard. This will increase the likelihood of the viable flowers that are left will all be pollinated. We would recommend doing this by having beehives brought into your orchard.
These management options are going to be very important to keep in mind as we go into next week. Current predicted temperatures through the UK Ag Weather Center is a low of 19 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, March 17th.
For commercial growers with any questions or concerns please reach out to Brent Arnoldussen, Elayna Stirn, or reach out to us through our social media. For home growers with questions or concerns, please reach out to your county agent.
(3/12/2026)
Elayna Stirn, Brent Arnoldussen