MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Apple orchards in parts of northern New England caught a break this spring when a frost hit but many orchards' flower buds had not opened enough to get wiped out.

Growers in parts of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire and northern New York have been monitoring their trees to see what the impact was from an early warm-up followed by the frost in late April.

Terry Bradshaw, president of Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association, says that "by all textbooks we shouldn't have any apples in the state." A warm spell followed by cold snaps had decimated crops in big apple states like Michigan.

But Bradshaw says growers in northern New England are pleasantly surprised.