The same factors came into play last year and blossoming was 10 days to a fortnight earlier then, too.
After the cold snap this week, the Otago Daily Times asked growers if there had been any frost fighting yet.
''It's almost getting to that stage,'' Coal Creek orchardist and Summerfruit New Zealand president Gary Bennetts said yesterday.
He believed flowering was about a fortnight earlier, which made it similar to last year's early arrival of blossom.
Stephen Jeffery, another Coal Creek orchardist, said it was fortunate the wintry weather had been ''unsettled'' throughout the day and night this week, as the lack of cold, still conditions meant there were no frosts.
''If there's some calm nights, we'll probably be looking at frosts and frost fighting,'' he said.
''We've certainly had a few flowers starting to come on the apricots.''
Cromwell fruit grower Mark Jackson said his apricots were about a fortnight away from being at the stage where they were vulnerable to frosts.
He also believed blooming was earlier than usual and similar to last year, when flowers opened anywhere from 10 days to a fortnight earlier than usual.
''I'm hoping for another cold week to slow things down a bit, but I'm still a couple of weeks away from needing to worry too much about frosts,'' he said.
