Nope... not a chance. Proof was this year. I had peaches with FROZEN roots that were leafing out because air temps were so mild in March. I know they were frozen because they were seedlings and I was digging them up to be moved and I had to break through a layer of ice in the soil. For what I've seen this year, air temps play a much larger roll then soil temps.

Thanks for your input. I found suorces saying it will delay bud break, but wanted first hand knowledge. Too much of what you read on the web needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I found this article just now, and will try it with the latex paint on one apricot tree next year.

Here is a link that might be useful: alginate gel

I agree with franktank... the only thing that really helps to delay flowering is to plant the tree in a cold microclimate (soil and air are cooler). This can buy you a few days, which is more in some cases than a so-called late flowering cultivar will provide.

This year I also noticed a marked difference in the duration of bloom among different peach varieties. J.H. Hale bloomed for a much much longer period than any of the others (Elberta, Reliance, Belle of Georgia, and a couple unknown varieties). This could be due to the fact that it is self-infertile, or possibly because it is a new tree, planted just last fall.

Fabaceae, I had something similar. Artic sweet, artic jay
honey kist and honey blaze, bloomed before the rest of the peaches and necatrines.
The upper branches have a few fruits that are about golf ball size. Mixed in with them are lots of small fruits about 1/2 inch long. The lower branches have nothing. On all of the peach and nectarines, the upper branches have normal size fruit. The lower brancher are bare. They are the only ones with this mismatch. I guess the frost settled on the lower branches. I am looking to see where I can get a few lbs of the alginate gel cheap.