The weather this past week gave us a preview of Spring, which is only a couple weeks away. Strawberry growers have begun fertilizing and will protect blooms from frosts from here on out. Blueberries and peaches are beginning to bloom, and some spring brassicas are going into the ground. See details below.
This past week, agents met at the Musser Fruit Research Farm to train on pruning peaches, blueberries, muscadines, and more. This came at a great time as calls are coming in about spring pruning of fruit trees.
Dave Ouellette reviewing the finer points of pruning peach trees.
Cory Tanner, ©2025, Clemson Extension
Keep an eye on the Upcoming Events tab periodically so you don’t miss any of our winter/spring meetings. Also, check out the latest episode of the SC Grower Exchange Podcast.
Don’t forget to look at our Resources tab for links to crop handbooks, helpful websites, and related blogs.
Coastal Region
Anna Sara Hill
Temperatures dipped below freezing last night in the Coastal Plain. Growers had to frost protect high value fruit crops, such as blueberries. Plants with buds that were not frost protected may suffer cold injury, which will reduce yields. Different floral stages can withstand different temperature lows for different time lengths. The tighter the bud, the colder it can handle without long term yield damage. When protecting with overhead irrigation, it is important to continue running the water until the next day when the temperature rises just above freezing. The ice crystals formed on the outside of the plant insulate it from internal cold damage. As the temperatures warm up the next day, the ice melts, leaving an undamaged bloom.
Blueberry Field protected from frost by overhead irrigation.
A.S. Hill, ©2025, Clemson Extension
Ice Crystals melting off Blueberry buds.
A.S. Hill, ©2025, Clemson Extension
Zack Snipes
- It’s been an up-and-down week with the weather. We had a few beautiful days, then we got cold again with lots of wind.
- I visited several strawberry farms last week and was encouraged by what I saw. We do have reduced stands in many fields due to disease or other issues, but what’s left looks really good. I am seeing anywhere from 2-5 crowns right now, but the crowns I am seeing are very large. I think we are in the middle of our first big bloom, so now is the time to get out our protectant fungicides and begin putting on and taking off our row covers to keep blooms from freezing. We will have several nights of frost this week.
- Spring greens, lettuce, and onions all look good with no real issues.
- Highbush blueberries are blooming, and rabbiteye types are in the tight bud stage and are about to explode with blooms. Visiting blueberry patches and feeling the energy of spring and the vibration of pollinators is one of my favorite things to do this time of year. Spring is near.
A honeybee is in search of another bloom on the variety San Joaquin.
Zack Snipes, ©2025, Clemson Extension
Midlands Region
Phillip Carnley
- Strawberries are doing all right in the Midlands. I’m still seeing some crown rot, and Neo is starting to get a little worse on the farms that have it. Now is the time to start looking forward and planning your fertility for spring.
- Ground is still being prepped for collard and cabbage transplants.
- Tomatoes are being planted on a few farms for the early fresh markets, mainly heirloom varieties.
- Blueberries are blooming and a few varieties are already at petal fall, depending on location.
Rob Last
- What a difference a week makes, from freezing to warm spring-like days.
- Crops are developing well in the Midlands, and many strawberry crops look great. Keep monitoring for spider mites, as they are active in strawberries now. Tissue sampling and fertigation are going to be the order of the day. Fungicide applications to help manage fruit diseases will be crucial.
- Planting is underway for many brassica and leafy green crops.
- Given the warm conditions, we see bud swell in blueberries and early flowering in some crops.
- Flowers of any crop are most susceptible to cold injury, so keep an eye on the forecast to decide when or if freeze protection is required.
Buds swelling in blueberries.
Rob Last, ©2025, Clemson Extension
Pee Dee Region
Christiana Huss
- Strawberry growers are starting to put out low amounts of fertilizer. Many are doing their first round of leaf tissue analysis to determine how much nitrogen, boron, and other key nutrients are already in their plants. Since too much fertilizer can be just as harmful as too little, the results of these tests help tailor the fertilization program and may save on costs. Read here for more information about how to collect a plant tissue sample, or contact your local agent.
- Some strawberry fields near the coast have small green fruits. Plants protected from recent cold weather events are expected to have harvestable fruit by the middle of March.
