If you live in the Boston area, freeze injury is likely the culprit! For the past two winters, Boston experienced abnormally high sustained temperatures in January and February, followed by a sharp drop in temperatures. This creates an effect similar to having the water in your pipes freezing. With warm temperatures, plants start moving water and flower buds begin to swell. Then with freezing temperatures, plant cells rupture. Most affected are early flowering plants, which results in no blossoms, leading to no fruit production. Peach and cherry trees suffered the most, and magnolias lost their blooms. Many hydrangeas, which need 2 year old twigs to bloom, often died back to the ground and did not bloom. Unfortunately there is not much that can be done to prevent this injury, but plants generally will recover in the following season.
