Thanks for the info fruitnut,jellyman. I did take the garbage bags off first thing in the am before sun came up, as I thought about the leaves/trees cooking. The news here says that 90% of the peach crop in south carolina is gone. I don't know what else I could have done, as the 10-20mph winds during the cold snap here, would and did prevent any heat sources near trees from keeping the air warm. I am watching the 4 peach trees to see if in next month leaves come back, and I will be careful not to overwater them. I pour 5 gallons of water each week on each tree, includes the cheeries and apples. As I said before the apples and cheeries are fine, as jellyman pointed out, I would have been better just to have not done anything, and not used the garbage bags. Thanks for all the info.

kek: 8-10 feet is not small for a peach tree that was planted only last spring. The tree must have been pretty big when you put it in. You had better begin to think about keeping the altitude of that baby down or it is going to get away from you. This summer would not be too early to do some summer pruing, especially in the center of the tree if it is crowded. I would reduce the overall height on such a young tree to no more than 6 feet. If you take off the top, new branches will grow in below. Peach trees need sunlight on the branches to promote fruiting bud formation, and it may be that the upper branches are shading the lower ones to such an extent that this cannot happen. With a peach tree, you want a spreading shape, open in the center to allow light to penetrate to all the branches, especially the lower ones that should be your best bearing branches. This is especially true for a tree that has such a small trunk diameter. Such a tree could easily break and blow over in the wind. Keep the top growth balanced with the size of the trunk and the age of the tree, and prune, prune, prune. The blooms you see up on top will probably not produce peaches this year, but maybe the tree will produce next year if you begin to do something soon. If your surviving tree is a Belle of Georgia, that is an older, white-fleshed variety. Very good, but subject to brown rots and extremely attractive to plum curculio and the oriental fruit moth. At some point, you may have to learn to deal with these insects if you are to have any ripe peaches. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

If you're not happy with the tree take it back to the nursery for a refund. However, it just might need a bit more time in the ground. When did you plant it?

It is okay to do pruning now, but avoid pruning late in the summer. Pruning will stimulate growth when the tree should be trying to go dormant for winter. The link below from Raintree Nursery has a very nice short guide for taking care of young trees. It is a 16 page PDF file that is packed with information and diagrams. The PDF file is formated to print easily as well. Here is a link that might be useful: Raintree Plant Owners Guide