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Unexpected hail may cause crop damage

Early strawberries got bruised, fruit trees lost blooms

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAR 10, 2021

Strawberries show hail damage. The late winter storm that blew through Tuesday

also affected blooms on ornamentals and fruit trees. (Photo courtesy UCCE

master gardeners)

After basking in spring-like warmth, our gardens got a sudden reminder – it’s still winter!

That cold wake-up blast came in the form of fast-moving thunderstorms Tuesday, dropping pea-size hail on many parts of Sacramento. Storms lingered Wednesday along with unstable air.

What will this mean to your garden? It depends on what that hail hit.

In my Pocket-area garden, the hail knocked almost all the pink blooms off my Babcock peach tree. The flowers had only been open less than a week. I’m not sure if any bees had time to find them to pollinate. Now, I doubt I’ll have any peaches this summer.

Pea-sized hail collects on spa cover in Pocket neighborhood
of Sacramento on Tuesday. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Meanwhile, my strawberries were setting their first berries of spring. Those little green berries likely will develop with bruises, if they don’t rot first. They’re another loss.

The hail also beat up my large camellias, bruising the flowers and knocking several blooms to the ground.

Hail mostly punches holes in leaves, especially big floppy leaves such as cannas. It also causes little nicks on forming fruit. Much of this damage is cosmetic and won’t harm the plant.

The chilly conditions brought by those little ice cubes didn’t hang around long enough to cause frost damage. Sacramento is at the end of its frost season; our traditional “last day of frost” date is March 23. So, it’s OK to trim off damaged foliage. Plants are in spring growth mode now and should rapidly replace those leaves.

Hardest hit by hail may be succulents. Hail bruising on fleshy-leaved plants can cause lasting scars. Exposed to sudden cold, succulents also may be prone to rot. Because of this rot risk, prune off mushy foliage and stems from damaged succulents immediately to encourage new healthy growth.

If hail is in the forecast, cover succulent plants or give them shelter such as under eaves or a patio shade structure.

Will we see hail again soon? Where there’s thunderstorms, there’s a chance of hail this time of year. According to the National Weather Service, our hail risk continues until mid-May.

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Keywords:

Sacramento March blossoms cold weather fruit trees camellias weather strawberries gardening National Weather Service average last frost date weather damage hail winter

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

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June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

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June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

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March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

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