Bob wrote:
Bill Bolle wrote in message ...

AlleyCatStudio1 wrote:

How can I protect the new leaves and buds on my fruit trees? I have apricots
that just finished blossoming, and some cherries and blueberries with flowers
and flower buds. Should I cover them up? (None are so big that I can't cover
them with a lawn bag).

Yes---if you do it right. If any of the leaves come in contact with
the plastic they might freeze even though covered. The idea is to
provide a trap so the heat radiating from the ground can be prevented
from escaping to the sky. If you close the bottom of the bag you
won't have any protection at all. Any cover that will keep the
radiated ground heat around the leaves and blossoms will give you a
couple of degrees of protection. If the sun is still up when you read
this, water the ground around the plants as this will trap solar heat
and add to the ground temps. Lots of luck-----
Bill


IF I understand right you are worried about frost coming into contact
with the leaves/buds. If it is not possible to actually totally cover
the plants putting a tarp over them supported with stakes would
probably help a lot as it would keep the frost from settling on the
plants themselves. I believe one night of cold would do little harm
if any at all if it warms well in the a.m. especially.
Let us know how you make out with what you do and best of luck to you.
Bob
No, I'm not concerned with the frost settling on the growth, it's the
air temperature getting below 32 degrees. If it gets to 32 or below
and stays there for an hour or so then most of the developing buds and
baby stone fruits will be toast. Freezing and then a rapid thaw will
only aggravate the problem. The whole idea is to trap the warm air
that's rising from the ground thus keeping the air around the fruit
and buds a little above freezing.
Bill