diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 8f229bf4a4..8fe7dfdc2b 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ require (
 	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.34.1
 	k8s.io/client-go v0.34.1
 	k8s.io/component-base v0.34.1
-	sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.21.0
+	sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.22.1
 	sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.6.0
 )
 
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index d121a52b61..6a974b9be4 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -396,8 +396,8 @@ k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20250710124328-f3f2b991d03b h1:MloQ9/bdJyIu9lb1PzujOP
 k8s.io/kube-openapi v0.0.0-20250710124328-f3f2b991d03b/go.mod h1:UZ2yyWbFTpuhSbFhv24aGNOdoRdJZgsIObGBUaYVsts=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20250604170112-4c0f3b243397 h1:hwvWFiBzdWw1FhfY1FooPn3kzWuJ8tmbZBHi4zVsl1Y=
 k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20250604170112-4c0f3b243397/go.mod h1:OLgZIPagt7ERELqWJFomSt595RzquPNLL48iOWgYOg0=
-sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.21.0 h1:CYfjpEuicjUecRk+KAeyYh+ouUBn4llGyDYytIGcJS8=
-sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.21.0/go.mod h1:OSg14+F65eWqIu4DceX7k/+QRAbTTvxeQSNSOQpukWM=
+sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.22.1 h1:Ah1T7I+0A7ize291nJZdS1CabF/lB4E++WizgV24Eqg=
+sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.22.1/go.mod h1:FwiwRjkRPbiN+zp2QRp7wlTCzbUXxZ/D4OzuQUDwBHY=
 sigs.k8s.io/json v0.0.0-20241014173422-cfa47c3a1cc8 h1:gBQPwqORJ8d8/YNZWEjoZs7npUVDpVXUUOFfW6CgAqE=
 sigs.k8s.io/json v0.0.0-20241014173422-cfa47c3a1cc8/go.mod h1:mdzfpAEoE6DHQEN0uh9ZbOCuHbLK5wOm7dK4ctXE9Tg=
 sigs.k8s.io/randfill v1.0.0 h1:JfjMILfT8A6RbawdsK2JXGBR5AQVfd+9TbzrlneTyrU=
diff --git a/internal/controller/runtime/client.go b/internal/controller/runtime/client.go
index 4cc05c9835..3e2cb681d4 100644
--- a/internal/controller/runtime/client.go
+++ b/internal/controller/runtime/client.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ package runtime
 import (
 	"context"
 
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 )
 
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ var _ client.Reader = ClientReader{}
 
 // Types that implement single methods of the [client.Writer] interface.
 type (
+	ClientApply     func(context.Context, runtime.ApplyConfiguration, ...client.ApplyOption) error
 	ClientCreate    func(context.Context, client.Object, ...client.CreateOption) error
 	ClientDelete    func(context.Context, client.Object, ...client.DeleteOption) error
 	ClientPatch     func(context.Context, client.Object, client.Patch, ...client.PatchOption) error
@@ -33,13 +35,17 @@ type (
 	ClientUpdate    func(context.Context, client.Object, ...client.UpdateOption) error
 )
 
-// ClientWriter implements [client.Writer] by composing assignable functions.
 type ClientWriter struct {
 	ClientCreate
 	ClientDelete
 	ClientDeleteAll
 	ClientPatch
 	ClientUpdate
+	ClientApply
+}
+
+func (fn ClientApply) Apply(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.ApplyConfiguration, opts ...client.ApplyOption) error {
+	return fn(ctx, obj, opts...)
 }
 
 var _ client.Writer = ClientWriter{}
diff --git a/internal/controller/runtime/pod_client.go b/internal/controller/runtime/pod_client.go
index 4122303bf5..7397498367 100644
--- a/internal/controller/runtime/pod_client.go
+++ b/internal/controller/runtime/pod_client.go
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ func newPodClient(config *rest.Config) (rest.Interface, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return apiutil.RESTClientForGVK(gvk, false, config, codecs, httpClient)
+	return apiutil.RESTClientForGVK(gvk, false, false, config, codecs, httpClient)
 }
 
 // +kubebuilder:rbac:groups="",resources="pods/exec",verbs={create}
diff --git a/internal/upgradecheck/http_test.go b/internal/upgradecheck/http_test.go
index c50b92c41e..1b62770600 100644
--- a/internal/upgradecheck/http_test.go
+++ b/internal/upgradecheck/http_test.go
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
+	"os"
+	"runtime"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -163,18 +165,46 @@ func TestCheckForUpgradesScheduler(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := &rest.Config{Host: server.URL}
 
 	t.Run("panic from checkForUpgrades doesn't bubble up", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Debug: Print comprehensive environment information
+		t.Logf("=== ENVIRONMENT DEBUG INFO ===")
+		t.Logf("Go Version: %s", runtime.Version())
+		t.Logf("GOOS: %s", runtime.GOOS)
+		t.Logf("GOARCH: %s", runtime.GOARCH)
+		t.Logf("NumCPU: %d", runtime.NumCPU())
+		t.Logf("Compiler: %s", runtime.Compiler)
+
+		// Log relevant environment variables
+		envVars := []string{
+			"CI", "GITHUB_ACTIONS", "GITHUB_WORKFLOW", "GITHUB_RUN_ID",
+			"RUNNER_OS", "RUNNER_ARCH", "RUNNER_TEMP",
+			"GOMAXPROCS", "GODEBUG", "GOTRACEBACK",
+			"TEST_TMPDIR", "TMPDIR", "TMP", "TEMP",
+		}
+		for _, envVar := range envVars {
+			if val := os.Getenv(envVar); val != "" {
+				t.Logf("ENV %s=%s", envVar, val)
+			}
+		}
+
 		ctx := context.Background()
 
 		// capture logs
 		var calls []string
+		var loggerCallCount int
 		ctx = logging.NewContext(ctx, funcr.NewJSON(func(object string) {
+			loggerCallCount++
+			t.Logf("Logger callback invoked #%d: %s", loggerCallCount, object)
 			calls = append(calls, object)
 		}, funcr.Options{
 			Verbosity: 1,
 		}))
 
+		// Track if panic was actually triggered
+		var panicTriggered bool
 		// A panicking call
 		funcFoo = func() (*http.Response, error) {
+			panicTriggered = true
+			t.Logf("funcFoo called - about to panic")
 			panic(fmt.Errorf("oh no!"))
 		}
 
@@ -182,10 +212,35 @@ func TestCheckForUpgradesScheduler(t *testing.T) {
 			Client: fakeClient,
 			Config: cfg,
 		}
+
+		t.Logf("About to call s.check(ctx)")
 		s.check(ctx)
+		t.Logf("s.check(ctx) returned normally")
+
+		// Debug: Print all captured log calls
+		t.Logf("=== TEST RESULTS ===")
+		t.Logf("Panic was triggered: %v", panicTriggered)
+		t.Logf("Total logger callbacks: %d", loggerCallCount)
+		t.Logf("Total calls captured in slice: %d", len(calls))
+		for i, call := range calls {
+			t.Logf("Call[%d]: %s", i, call)
+		}
+
+		// Debug: Check environment differences
+		t.Logf("Server URL: %s", server.URL)
+		t.Logf("Config Host: %s", cfg.Host)
 
-		assert.Equal(t, len(calls), 2)
-		assert.Assert(t, cmp.Contains(calls[1], `encountered panic in upgrade check`))
+		// Debug: Check scheduler state
+		t.Logf("Scheduler Client: %v", s.Client != nil)
+		t.Logf("Scheduler Config: %v", s.Config != nil)
+
+		assert.Equal(t, len(calls), 2, "expected exactly 2 log calls")
+		if len(calls) > 1 {
+			assert.Assert(t, cmp.Contains(calls[1], `encountered panic in upgrade check`),
+				"expected second log to contain panic message, got: %s", calls[1])
+		} else {
+			t.Fatalf("expected at least 2 calls but got %d", len(calls))
+		}
 	})
 
 	t.Run("successful log each loop, ticker works", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -208,8 +263,8 @@ func TestCheckForUpgradesScheduler(t *testing.T) {
 			}, nil
 		}
 
-		// Set loop time to 1s and sleep for 2s before sending the done signal
-		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 2*time.Second)
+		// Set loop time to 1s and sleep for 5s before sending the done signal
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Second)
 		defer cancel()
 		s := CheckForUpgradesScheduler{
 			Client:  fakeClient,
@@ -220,7 +275,7 @@ func TestCheckForUpgradesScheduler(t *testing.T) {
 
 		// Sleeping leads to some non-deterministic results, but we expect at least 2 executions
 		// plus one log for the failure to apply the configmap
-		assert.Assert(t, len(calls) >= 4)
+		assert.Assert(t, len(calls) >= 4, fmt.Sprintf("expected at least 4 calls, got %d", len(calls)))
 
 		assert.Assert(t, cmp.Contains(calls[1], `{\"pgo_versions\":[{\"tag\":\"v5.0.4\"},{\"tag\":\"v5.0.3\"},{\"tag\":\"v5.0.2\"},{\"tag\":\"v5.0.1\"},{\"tag\":\"v5.0.0\"}]}`))
 		assert.Assert(t, cmp.Contains(calls[3], `{\"pgo_versions\":[{\"tag\":\"v5.0.4\"},{\"tag\":\"v5.0.3\"},{\"tag\":\"v5.0.2\"},{\"tag\":\"v5.0.1\"},{\"tag\":\"v5.0.0\"}]}`))
diff --git a/pkg/apis/pgv2.percona.com/v2/perconapgbackup_types.go b/pkg/apis/pgv2.percona.com/v2/perconapgbackup_types.go
index 5e0fd6d3f1..92be7a6d46 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/pgv2.percona.com/v2/perconapgbackup_types.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/pgv2.percona.com/v2/perconapgbackup_types.go
@@ -137,6 +137,13 @@ func (t *PITRestoreDateTime) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
 	return json.Marshal(t.Time.Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05.000000-0700"))
 }
 
+func (t *PITRestoreDateTime) ToUnstructured() interface{} {
+	if t.Time == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return t.Time.ToUnstructured()
+}
+
 type PGBackupStorageType string
 
 const (