I have what I consider a small micro climate up on a hill. It it surrounded by trees with small openings to the west and south. I assume this allows the frost to drain down to the lower ground.

I also started a 100 ft. stepover apple espalier that will be in its third leaf this summer. My rational was that if the branches are covered with our usually deep snowfall then there is a better chance for winter survival of the fruiting buds.

Are you planting on the south or north side of that fence? I am planning a similar project for plums planted on the south side but I was concerned that the increased heat may make them wake up too early and be susceptible to early spring frosts.

was initially thinking of south side but yes being too warm might be an issue early flowering.

Yes...the higher the better, extra heat and sun on the south side would be beneficial for better quality fruit and ripening out the late ones. Last year the frost came late when asian plums already formed and survived, some later flowering plums like European got fried, hardly had any Mt. Royal.

Plant closer to the house - south/west facing walls. We have a line of tall trees that hangs over the yard on one side giving a bit more protection. Usually plants that are a zone higher have a decent chance but may get knocked out in a year or so during a bad winter.

Not quite a fruit tree, but our squash did great against a chain link fence with white plastic privacy strips/slats running through it. It reflected the afternoon heat well.

We heat our house with a wood boiler that is 50 feet from the garage. I have planted strawberries, that were marginally hardy here, over the place where the line runs underground and they survived just fine. In fact, I dug up these strawberries to plant in pots for my greenhouse two weeks ago. Although the upper half inch was frozen, beneath that, the roots were in soft thawed soil.

I wish I could think of what else to plant over this warm soil but I am afraid that tree roots might compromise the line itself or, heaven forbid, should we have a problem and have to dig it up I would then loose a cherished tree.

WOW...that's a micro climate of a different kind lol.....how deep in the ground is the line?