| Good afternoon all:
I'm considering whitewashing my peach and apple trees later this Fall and have a question about the peach. Some literature states that whitewashing peach buds can inhibit premature flowering and help with bud hardiness. I understand both mechanisms but am uncertain about spraying a 50:50 white interior latex paint:water mix even under drying temps. above 50 deg. F. No doubt some damage can occur to buds but how likely is it? Are the leaf or flower buds more prone to injury?
If you are wondering why I would bother trying to eke out a few day's delay in flowering, the last 2 years have been extremely close when it comes to losing my flowers. A few days earlier and my blooms would have been (frozen) toast. Seems like cheap insurance that might buy me a few sorely needed days occasionally.
This exercise may be moot as it isn't likely there will be good drying temps. after the leaves have fallen off the peach anyway.
Oh and BTW, I plan to get a Kocide spray on before the paint, comments.
And lastly, I'm only whitewashing the trunks and lower portions of the lowest scaffold limbs on the apples, not the buds.
Michael | 
