How to Protect Dwarf Fruit Trees from Freezing

Frost and freezing temperatures can damage your dwarf fruit trees if you don't take precautions to help keep them warm. Cold-weather damage can have long-lasting effects on the tree and prevent it from producing fruit.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Straw mulch
• Covering materials (blankets, plastic, cardboard)

1. Keep the soil moist. Moisture helps conduct heat and keep it in the ground. The soil should not be saturated; this will cause the water to evaporate and cool the ground further.

2. Lay several inches of straw mulch around the base of the trees to keep moisture in the soil and trap heat.

3. Cover the trees to insulate them. Use blankets, plastic tarps or cardboard boxes. Use sandbags, buckets filled with soil or outdoor furniture to anchor the covers. Lightweight covers will add a few degrees of warmth; heavier covers can add up to 8 degrees F of warmth.

4. Paint the trunks white. Dilute an interior water-based paint by 50 percent with water and apply it with a brush. This will prevent trunk splitting and other frost damage during cold months. Apply the paint in late summer or early fall before the first freeze.

Tips & Warnings

• Delay pruning of trees until as late as possible in early spring to prevent damage from an unexpected frost.

References

• Five Ways to Protect Your Garden
• Freeze Protection Methods
• Freeze Protection: Passive Methods