Spring Planting

• Virginia lies at the southern edge of the United States apple-growing region. Because warmer temperatures arrive in Virginia before most of the rest of the apple-growing region, Virginians can begin planting apple trees in late March or early April.
  
  

Winter Injury

• Apple trees for planting should be purchased when they are dormant. Often when the trees are shipped, they have already begun to bud. If they are planted too early and a late spring frost occurs, the buds will be killed, destroying not only the bloom but the potential crop.
  
  

Contingency Plan

• If the weather is unseasonably cold when the apple trees are purchased or arrive, they should not be planted. Check the tree for damage and then rewrap the roots, making sure they remain moist. Store the tree in a cool place, preferably at 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, until temperatures rise enough to ensure the danger of frost has passed.