This year, Bermuda’s gardeners and foragers noticed something remarkable: loquat trees and Surinam cherries, which normally fruit once in spring, produced a surprise second harvest in early fall. Bright clusters of orange and crimson fruit appeared on hedgerows and backyard trees, weeks before Halloween, an unusual encore performance for two of the island’s favourite subtropical fruits.
So, what happened? The answer lies in the weather.
According to data from the Bermuda Weather Service, mid-to-late 2025 brought a run of unusual climatic conditions that essentially “fooled” many fruit trees into thinking spring had returned. From late July through September, the island experienced repeated showers and thunderstorms, with September alone recording 186 millimeters (7.32 inches) of rain, a number well above average.
This rainfall followed a relatively dry and warm early summer, a pattern known to trigger stress responses in many subtropical fruit species. When heavy rains finally arrived, accompanied by bursts of sunshine and mild temperatures, loquats and Surinam cherries responded with new flushes of growth and bloom, as if a second growing season had begun.
Two tropical systems amplified this effect. Hurricane Humberto and Hurricane Imelda passed near or over Bermuda between September 29 and October 1, bringing several inches of rain and a surge of humidity. In the weeks that followed, many residents noticed loquat blossoms and cherry flowers emerging on fresh shoots, the trees’ natural response to what they interpreted as post-drought, springlike conditions.
This phenomenon isn’t unique to Bermuda, but it’s becoming more common in subtropical regions experiencing climate variability and warmer autumns. Fruit trees, like many plants, rely on environmental cues such as temperature, rainfall, and day length to regulate their flowering cycles. When those cues shift or occur out of season, some species can re-flower and fruit unpredictably.
In loquats, which typically bloom in late winter and fruit by spring, a second flowering can occur if temperatures remain consistently mild and soil moisture improves suddenly. Surinam cherries are even more flexible; they often produce several flushes of fruit per year in warm, moist climates. Bermuda’s combination of warm seas, late tropical rains, and lingering humidity provided the perfect recipe for both.
While a second harvest might sound like a gardener’s dream, it’s not always good news for the trees. Off-season fruiting can drain stored energy and affect the following year’s crop. Still, for local wildlife, and anyone lucky enough to taste these unexpected autumn fruits, it was a delightful surprise.
Whether this double fruiting becomes a new norm remains to be seen. But as Bermuda’s climate continues to warm and weather patterns grow less predictable, nature may keep rewriting its own calendar, one loquat blossom at a time.
