Drop Time Guesstimate

[White Oak]

A Wildlife Nursery in Pennsylvania has a fruit tree I'm interested in. The drop time is listed as Mid November through 1 st week of December, and that would be perfect timing for My rifle Deer season. However I am in the south , zone 7 . Would the drop time be the same , or earlier or Later since it stays warmer here later ?. I do plan on contacting the nursery and asking their thoughts before ordering . With that said , I am sure there are folks on here that have already bought from a Northern nursery and planted in the south and could say if their drop time was the same as the advertised drop time , or earlier or later.

 

[Native Hunter]

Hmmmm...75 views and no responses. There's a good reason - this is difficult to answer because of several factors:

• Zones in themselves don't tell the whole story. Here is a thread with some more information on that: http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/usda-zones.11857/
• Factors such as elevation also make a big difference,
• Latitude and Longitude both affect flowering and drop times - not just latitude.
• The weather variations (from norms) that can occur in two different locations (other than just being in different zones) can have a lot of influence.

However, I can give you a ballpark estimate. I live in Zone 6B in KY. I have determined that my drop times are roughly a month earlier (perhaps even just a little more) than the drop time charts that Blue Hill provides for that area. If you are in the southeast in Zone 7, I would expect that to be similar for you - even a tad more difference since your trees will generally start budding out and flowering somewhat earlier in the spring than mine.

Best wishes.

 

[White Oak]

Hmmmm...75 views and no responses. There's a good reason - this is difficult to answer because of several factors:

• Zones in themselves don't tell the whole story. Here is a thread with some more information on that: http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/usda-zones.11857/
• Factors such as elevation also make a big difference,
• Latitude and Longitude both affect flowering and drop times - not just latitude.
• The weather variations (from norms) that can occur in two different locations (other than just being in different zones) can have a lot of influence.

However, I can give you a ballpark estimate. I live in Zone 6B in KY. I have determined that my drop times are roughly a month earlier (perhaps even just a little more) than the drop time charts that Blue Hill provides for that area. If you are in the southeast in Zone 7, I would expect that to be similar for you - even a tad more difference since your trees will generally start budding out and flowering somewhat earlier in the spring than mine.

Best wishes.

Thanks for the info Native Hunter , I understand there are a lot of factors . Going forward I'm going to use your ballpark estimate of roughly a month earlier droptime for my zone when selecting future trees to buy from Northern nurseries .

 

[Native Hunter]

Thanks for the info Native Hunter , I understand there are a lot of factors . Going forward I'm going to use your ballpark estimate of roughly a month earlier droptime for my zone when selecting future trees to buy from Northern nurseries .

You're welcome. I based this ballpark estimate on the following trees that I grow which he has on his chart:

Ayers Pear (mine are probably like 5 weeks earlier)
Liberty Apple (mine are about a month earlier)
Yates Apple (we are probably less than a month difference on this one. Mine would be finished a little before the end of November rather than mid December)
Priscilla Apple (mine are probably a little more than a month earlier)

So, I just rounded all of this off to an even month for simplicity. I'm including this so that you will know how it was arrived at.

Best wishes.

 

[TenPoint]

Only real way to find out is plant one and see! Won't be the end of the world if it drops earlier or later.

 

[Charman03]

To know for sure I’d probably stick with trees from your area with those known drop times.

 

[TenPoint]

To know for sure I’d probably stick with trees from your area with those known drop times.

What fun is that? :)

 

[woodduck]

I'd give Ryan a call like you mentioned. I know he sold stuff to guys down south and gets feedback from some of those guys. He may not have droptime feedback yet but he at least has some bloom time feedback on some of his varieties. Nothing is for sure but that should help get you get in the ballpark.