chilling requirement
Dormancy-breaking cold exposure
Chilling requirement is the minimum period of cold temperatures that certain plants need before they can bloom or fruit.
Fruit trees, bulbs, and perennial plants often require weeks of winter cold to break dormancy: This peach variety has a low chilling requirement and grows well in mild climates.
Measured in "chill hours" below a threshold temperature, usually around 45°F.
- apple orchardsCultivated tree farms for fruit
- dormancySuspended biological activity
- stratificationDivision into distinct levels
- microclimateLocalized atmospheric zone
- frostThin ice coating
seasonal variation · growing season · fruit set · stone fruits · cold hardiness · temperate · frost protection · pruning · abscission · deciduous · breaking · accumulation · flowering · senescence · hardiness · hours · winter · buds
- plant hardinesshardiness zones, cold hardiness, frost resistance, cold-hardy, hardy plants
- seed germinationgermination, scarification, stratification, seed coat, embryo