What happens to plants when the temperatures go from unseasonably warm to drastically colder so late in the season?

Dr. Michael Goerndt, assistant professor at Missouri State University’s Darr College of Agriculture, answered this question for KSPR.

“The tree is actively operating again. It’s actively respiring, doing some photosynthesis with at least the material that it has to work with,” Goerndt told KSPR.