Spring Tree Blossoms, Puttering. Container Fruit Trees. 3.7.15

Bonanza Peach in bloom.  3.7.15

Honeybees enjoying a sunny spring day.   3.7.15

 Today was sunny and warm.  Last week there was frost almost every night, but low was about 29F.   I don't think that is low enough to kill the plum flowers and peach flowers.

The Italian honeybees have been actively foraging.  I have not yet painted the Warre hive.  Need to do that soon.

The forsythia was grown from a cutting, then I moved the large bush to the Battleground place 2 1/2 years ago.  Nice display.

The Crimson Pointe Plum is columnar shape.  It makes a nice early showing of the flowers.  The fruits are good, small, but last year there were none.  The lowest branches were eaten by deer, but they don't browse about about 4 to 5 feet.

The Hollywood plum starts are growing.  The laburnum has not started growing yet, and the Forsythia is still blooming.

Forsythia.  3.7.15

Crimson Pointe Plum.  3.7.15

Trees and shrubs from cuttings, 1-2 years old.  3.7.15

Potted trees.  3.7.15

The potted trees were the new apricot variety, "Pixicot", listed as genetic dwarf.  I potted this tree, intending to grow in container and keep inside if blooms occur during frost days.  The Arbequina olive has flower buds.  I potted it up to a 2-gallon container.  The plan for the olive, is to spend winter in the sunroom and summer outside.

Puttering. 2.24.24

Shrub and tree cuttings, 1 to 2 years old.  2.24.15

Forsythia cutting.  One year old.  2.24.15

 Puttering.

I finished adding cedar wood chip mulch to the front border.  Now it should be maintenance free for a long time.  Maintenance free is good.

Forsythia cutting from this time last year is blooming.  Didn't grow much last year  Lots of roots.  I think it will grow this year.

Plum cuttings from last year are starting to grow.  No flower buds.

Two year old Laburnum / Golden Chain Tree cuttings, I removed from ground an potted for some TLC.   I think this is 2 years old, might be 3.  Buds starting to swell.

Potted genetic dwarf peach is starting to bloom.  If it frosts, I can move it inside.  Looks like growth is starting much lower on the tree.  Good.  I can prune it back for a more compact plant.  I kept it out of the rain all winter.  Too soon to see if that helped with peach leaf curl.  I am playing the bee with a paintbrush, to support pollination.  This is either Bonanza or Ponderosa.  I mix up the names, which shows my age.

Bee forage plots, seedlings have germinated.  Borage, Phacelia, Crimson Clover.   The borage will crowd and shade out all weeds and grasses in its plot, which is good.  I expect so will the crimson clover.

I transplanted lemon balm into the remaining bee forage plot.  Lemon balm / Melissa is considered great bee forage.  They ignored it last year.   I had it planted around seedling trees, but it's too vigorous and competed with the trees.  So today it's in it's own plot, much nearer the beehive.

Honeybees are out in force, for past 2 weeks.  This is good.  They survived the winter and did not swarm.   Which reminds me, I need to paint the new hive.  This time it will be a Warre hive, which I hope needs less effort to keep the honeycombs straight.

Within a few yards of beehive:  Linden, Sourwood, Melissa, Borage, Phacelia, bee-friendly Buddlea Blue Chip, lavender - minimal, and a few more yards away, Nings wildflower meadow.  more Lindens, maples, and others.  That won't be enough to keep all of the foraging at our place, but I hope it helps a bit.

Smith Fig, kept in garage all winter, growing.  I moved it inside with predicted 29 degree night, not is back outside.  None of the others is growing, even kept in garage next to Smith.  In-ground Smith thoroughly dead.  It is more suited for more southern climate.

 Or is that peach El Dorado?  Nothing to do with Bonanza?  I'll have to look it up.

Bonanza Peach.  2.24.15

Bonanza Peach.  2.24.15

Borage Seedlings at one week.  2.24.15

Crimson Clover Seedlings at one week.  2.24.15

Transplanted Lemon Balm.  2.24.15

Front of house, with beehive.  2.24.15

Smith Fig starting to grow.  2.24.15

Potting a Peach Tree and Some Tree Volunteers. 10.29.14

El Dorado Peach Tree, Uprooted.  10.29.14

 I have been meaning to dig up the smallest of the genetic dwarf peach trees - this is El Dorado - and pot it up.  The main reason is peach leaf curl.  If I can keep it in shelter, out of the rain, in theory, PLC should not be a problem.  I have larger Honey Babe and Garden Sun, too big to dig up and treat this way.

I love peaches but it's been quite difficult growing them here.  The main problem is devastating peach lead curl disease.

This El Dorado Genetic Dwarf Peach tree is really too big to dig up.  It a robust, 6 foot tall tree, well branched.  I started digging yesterday, and finished today.  I dug a trench in a wide circle around the tree, then tried to slice under the tree with a shovel.  I was surprised there was a large thick tap-root.  I had to cut  through it to release the tree.  I pruned to even up the somewhat rough cut, trying to minimize removal of any more feeder roots.

Most of the other roots look ok.  Even though the root pruning was drastic, I've seen worse and the tree survived.  It does look  very drastic to me.  Being fall, there is a chance the tree will re-root itself with feeder roots despite removal of the anchor root.

Reasons it might not live -
*Too drastic removal of roots.
*Residual leaf curl disease on the stems.
*Root mass may freeze.  I plan to keep the tree outside because it needs chill time in order to bloom.

If the tree survives, it will make a nice ornamental.  Genetic dwarf peaches bloom beautifully.

Based on the tree planting info from Linda Chalker-Scott debunking horticultural myths, I did not top the tree or prune top to compensate for loss of root mass.  I did remove dead twigs.  There were a lot of those.

For this winter, I intend to keep the tree under house overhang, on the North side of the house.  That location may also keep it cooler, and delay bloom, which would be good.  But it it does bloom, and frost threatens, I can move it inside on chilly nights.  Next Spring and Summer I can keep it on the deck, for TLC. 

El Dorado Peach Tree, Potted.  10.29.14

 Doubtless, it will need a larger container by early summer.

There are also the peach seedlings at battleground.  They survived potting up and look nice and healthy.

I want at least 2 cherry seedlings in order to create Japanese cherry trees.  I think sweet cherry seedlings should be very robust and make a nice tree.  This was a volunteer sweet cherry from the yard.  At Battleground I also have a few sweet cherry seedlings.  By growing them in containers for a season, I can protect them and give TLC, as I do with figs, for maximal growth.    It would be nice to be able to bud graft at least one, next year.

While I was at it, I also potted up the volunteer fig tree from the front of the house.  It had nice roots.  Based on inspection, it was a stem or cutting, I just don't know from which variety or why it was there.

El Dorado Peach before moving.  10.28.14

Volunteer Fig Bare Root.  10.29.14

Sweet Cherry Seedling.  10.29.14

"Volunteer" Fig and Cherry Seedlings, Potted.  10.29.14