Protecting apple blossom

[chris]

One of my apple tree's blossom is just showing, I've a few nights of low temps and am expecting some frosts.. Should I protect this blossom?



It's a Red Windsor (very dwarfing - m27), which is supposed to be a frost hardy apple but as it's on such a dwarfing rootstock, I thought I'd best be asking as I really do like the apples that this tree produces

[Nicos]

My gut feeling would be to say yes.
I've got a peach already in part blossom, several plum trees, a Mirrabell,and a few apples looking like yours.
We chucked fleece over them last night- but it looks like we too are in for several nights of frost. Think we need more fleece!
* adds to shopping list!

[FB.]

Rootstock won't make much difference to the frost-resistance of the blossom. Quite a few fruit trees will tolerate a few degrees of frost on their blossom. The flowers on your tree are not open yet, so they're even less likely to be damaged. Open blossoms are at greatest risk and you're a week or two away from that stage.
Even if you lose the first blossoms, the tree won't usually have all flowers open at once, so it'll just drop less fruitlets in the "June drop" if it didn't set many fruits to start with.

The only frost resistance/susceptibility applicable to the root stock is tree survivability in severely frozen ground. M26 and MM111 rootstocks are most likely to cope best with hard winters (they also seem to cope best with a variety of other soil/climate problems too).

[Madasafish]

I tried protecting years ago but trees were not dwarf and the wind moved the fleece.

Gave up and now rely on luck.

If it is going to be cold, I spray blossom with cold water. that helps.

[sugar]

The easiest preventive measure against frost damage is keeping the soil bare underneath the tree. Dark surface reflect less heat (during the day) and radiate this heat overnight. You can easily win 2-3 degrees by doing so.
On the other hand, you should cover the soil in february and march (to prevent plants from heating up to soon).

I will not be doing this in my garden, I think bare soil is unnatural and to labor intensive. I will grow wild raspberries under myfruit trees

[chris]

Oops, forgot I posted this

Thanks for the replies