Frost is one of the most significant threats to the viability of temperate fruit orchards, including almond trees. Its direct effect is a reduction in nut production. In the study area, the chronic shortage of irrigation water, combined with the risk of freezing temperatures, generates uncertainties among farmers about water allocation to almond trees, and the direct impacts on both tree growth and nut production in the following season. Consequently, this study analyzed the physiological and morphological responses of mature almond trees subjected to a severe Late-Spring Frost (LSF) event followed by contrasting irrigation regimes under field conditions. Over two growing seasons, we assessed tree water status, leaf functional traits, and yield components to evaluate the extent to which meteorological drivers and soil water replenishment influenced plant recovery and performance, as well as unravelling how to manage irrigation scheduling under these conditions. Despite LSF induced yield losses, no carry-over effects on growth or production were observed in the following season, largely due to the specific conditions of this study, which included substantial off-season rainfall that restored soil water reserves. Leaffunctional traits, however, showed distinct sensitivity to total water availability during the frost year, indicating plastic adjustments in photosynthetic and hydraulic functioning under combined low fruit load and waterstress conditions. These results provide insight into the mechanisms governing the coupling between canopy physiology and climatic variability in deciduous orchards, emphasizing that the plant water relations based on cumulative leaf-functional traits could be used as a promising analytical approach between fruit-tree physiological and productive responses, and the design of deficit irrigation strategies.