Advice needed. Bare root trees arrived sprotting and it is still winter here

[C.BP]

Hello,
Wondering if anyone can give advice.
I ordered some bare root fruit trees. They arrived already sprouting and leafing out.
I live at about 7000 ft and the ground is still covered by snow and it is still very much winter here.
Should i pot them for now and keep in a warm sunny location in my house? Or pot and keep in cool 1) dark area 2) or lighted area ....in hopes of slowing them down?
Any advice appreciated

 

[Tetters]

Welcome @C.BP Good to see you on the forums. If they were my trees, I would pot them up and leave them outside, wherever they may see a glimpse of sunshine for now - at least until the ground is not frozen. They will then grow on in their natural environment until the soil has thawed out. If you were to bring them in they would be a bit like fish out of water.

 

[Chuck]

A tree that is leafing out and then freezes is not a good thing. It will kill the leaves and buds and you will slow the growth of the tree for the coming growing season. I would pot it up and move it indoors in a warm sunny spot until temperatures stay above freezing as it will only be for a fairly short period of time. Perhaps the following link will explain it better than I can.

Freeze damage depends on tree fruit stage of development

Damage from freezes depends on the development stage of the fruit crop. These tables allow you to quickly assess the risk for your tree fruit crops.

www.canr.msu.edu