While most Iowans long for spring, fruit growers like to see 30- and 40-degree temperatures through March because it lessens the odds a late cold snap will freeze buds or blooms.
“Right now, all of the apple trees still are quite dormant,” said Paul Rasch, owner of Wilson’s Orchard & Farm in Solon. “We usually bloom that last week in April or the first week in May, and that’s really great for us if we can bloom later.”
Spring is right on track in Iowa, with daffodils and tulips expected to bloom in early to mid-April, and fruit trees flowering a few weeks later, said Patrick O’Malley, a Linn County-based commercial fruit and vegetable field specialist with Iowa State University Extension.
A gradual warm-up is much better for trees, shrubs, and flowers than the erratic swings in temperature Iowa often gets in the spring.
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